Happy Anniversary!

Today is the first anniversary of beginning to write this blog. As I wrote in that first post, my goal was to talk about a relationship with God that begins with trust.  As I look over the 128 posts of this past year, I think I have kept to that goal fairly well.  

I have had over 8,000 hits but over 2,000 of them were most likely from people who googled a winter scene I used in the post and just happened upon my blog. But I like to think that maybe some of them read it and perhaps it got them thinking about their relationship with God.  My second most viewed post was one I posted in March about faith.  Again it could have been the picture however I do hope they read the post.

The third most viewed post was not about the picture but about a quote from St. Augustine, "Behold what you are, become what you receive," which I posted on the Feast of Corpus Christi last June.  I know many came to that site looking for this specific quote as it showed in the blog stats.  It is my favorite quote on the Eucharist and one of my favorites from this great saint whose love of the Eucharist has inspired me in my own dedication to the Blessed Sacrament.

When I think about the first time I heard that quote when I first began to take basic courses in liturgy offered by our diocese, it jumped out at me.  "Behold what you are." I could reflect on that one part of the quote for years.  What am I?  Who am I?  Think about it. I am a child of God, a daughter of the Father through baptism, incorporated into Christ's Body, the Church. But is that all? I receive Communion almost daily, but what does that do for me?

Pope Benedict wrote in Deus Caritas Est: 

"In sacramental communion I become one with the Lord, like all the other communicants. As Saint Paul says, ‘Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread’ (1 Cor 10:17). Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom He gives himself. We become ‘one body’, completely joined in a single existence. Love of God and love of neighbor are now truly united: God incarnate draws us all to Himself.”

This is what I "become", one with the Lord, "joined in a single existence," with Christ as the Head. As I wrote in my earlier post, that changed my life. I cannot view my existence in any other way, as long as I continue to be joined to His Body. The sad fact is that I can break that union, but Jesus is always calling me back into union with Him.  

It puzzles me how many Catholics can stay away from this wonderful Gift. I like to believe that they truly do not understand what the Eucharist is; that they don't understand Who it is that they receive in Holy Communion. I hope it is not because they just don't care.

If there is one thing that I would hope to do this coming year is to grow in my devotion to the Eucharist, but also to work on that other part of becoming "one body" that Pope Benedict mentions; love of God and love of neighbor joined together. Not only that, but I hope to help evangelize others to come to appreciate the Gift of Christ "who draws us all to Himself."

Behold what you are, become what you receive.

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. We celebrate the great gift that Jesus gives us in sharing His own Body and His own Blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Unfortunatly in our day, this Gift is becoming increasingly unappreciated.  My docotral project was on the effects of the consumer culture on preparation for First Holy Communion, but it can also be extended to the way many Catholics view the Eucharist.  In my experience, many see it as something they "get" when they come to Mass, and some don't even believe it is the Body and Blood of Christ. I wrote, "The Eucharist is viewed more as a commoditiy rather than an avenue of grace and encounter with God."  Yes, the Eucharist is an encounter, the greatest encounter we can have with Jesus our Lord.  

I thought today I would share with you some of my favorite quotes about the Eucharist.

In today's Office of Readings, we read from St. Thomas Aquinas:

"Since it was the will of God’s only-begotten Son that men should share in his divinity, he assumed our nature in order that by becoming man he might make men gods. Moreover, when he took our flesh he dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered his body to God the Father on the altar of the cross as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed his blood for our ransom and purification, so that we might be redeemed from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us for ever, he left his body as food and his blood as drink for the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine."

St Augustine:

"You, however, are the Body of Christ and His members. If, therefore, you are the Body of Christ and His members, your mystery is presented at the table of the Lord, you receive your mystery. To that which you are, you answer: `Amen'; and by answering, you subscribe to it. For you hear: `The Body of Christ!' and you answer: `Amen!' Be a member of Christ's Body, so that your `Amen' may be the truth."

Blessed Tersa of Calcutta:

"In each of our lives Jesus comes as the Bread of Life - to be eaten, to be consumed by us. This is how He loves us. Then Jesus comes in our human life as the hungry one, the other, hoping to be fed with the Bread of our life, our hearts by loving, and our hands by serving. In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is Love and when we love we are like God.

St. John Chrysostom:
"How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment."

Blessed Pope John Paul II:

"The Eucharist is the heart of the Church. Where Eucharistic life flourishes, there the life of the church will blossom."

Pope Benedict XVI:

The Eucharist is a 'mystery of faith' par excellence; 'the sum and summary of our faith.' The Church's faith is essentially a eucharistic faith, and it is especially nourished at the table of the Eucharist."

There are so many more I could print here. In my own words, the Eucharist is what gives me strength.  Just as food and drink give me the nourishment my body needs, so too the Eucharist nourishes my soul.  As we celebrate this beautiful solemnity, it is good to focus on your own beliefs and feelings about the Eucharist, and how important it is to your own life.

I end with my favorite quote on the Eucharist.  St. Augustine said, "Behold what you are, become what you receive."  This quote literally changed my life. When I receive the sacred host in my palm, I have the opportunity, for a brief moment, to literaly "behold" my Lord and Savior. When I receive Him into my body, I become "the Body of Christ."  As they say, "You are what you eat!"

Tis the season for First Communions

My last post disappeared after Blogger was down for two days.  Maybe it will return some day.  Lots going on in the parish. This is the season of First Communions.  While they are exciting they also expose some of the problems that we are experiencing in the Church.  When I did my doctoral project four years ago on the topic of First Communion, I was surprised by the number of respondents to my survey who admitted that their motives for having their child receive Communion was not because of faith or belief but simply because it was the thing to do if one is Catholic. It didn't matter if the family did not attend Mass on Sundays or practiced their faith at all. It saddens me when I see children so innocent and excited to be receiving the Eucharist on Saturday, and then we don't see them again in church for weeks, months, or even years.  We can't blame the kids, but I wish I knew the way to get the parents to realize the great Gift that the Eucharist is, not just an excuse to get dressed up and have a party. And, that coming to Mass each week is not a burden or unnecessary, but indeed is necessary to foster a deeper relationship with Christ.

I remember my First Communion.  I remember it was raining and my bouquet fell apart. I know we didn't have a party, but I do remember being at my Grandparent's house, probably for dinner. The only gifts I remember receiving were a rosary and a children's missal.  I remember being second to last in the processional line since I was so tall, even in first grade I was taller then those in second grade who were receiving that day.  I remember we sang "O Sacrament Most Holy," "O, Lord I Am Not Worthy," "Jesus, Jesus Come to Me," and a silly little ditty (by 1961 standards) called "Little White Guest."  Mass was in Latin, we received on our knees, on the tongue, and at the altar rail.  But most of all, I clearly remember going back to my pew burying my face in my hands, and feeling that this was a day that would change my life, and so happy that I was receiving Jesus.  I could not wait for the next day to  wear my First Communion dress and receive Jesus again.  I came to Mass the next day all dressed up and happy to receive Jesus. We again wore our dresses the next week at school as we crowned Our Lady, and a few weeks later walking in the Corpus Christi procession following Mass. This Sunday, maybe two or three kids will wear their communion clothes to Mass.  A good number of those who received today will not be there tomorrow.  Only about a third will participate in the May Crowing. The big question is why?

I pray for all our First Communicants, but most of all for their parents that they can come to understand the need for Jesus in their lives and the lives of their children. This past week the daily readings were from the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, the Bread of Life discourse. I know that listening and meditating on these readings always help me to renew my devotion to Christ present in the Eucharist. They are among the most beautiful passages in the Gospels. I pray that the hearts and minds of the parents of these young children will be moved to come to know Jesus in the Eucharist and to instill the Love of Christ on their children so that their memories of First Communion will be more than the clothes, the party and the gifts.