As Catholics, we believe that the Communion that we receive during Mass is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we believe that just as the Apostles received the actual Body and Blood of Christ during the Last Supper, so too do we receive His Body and Blood in the Eucharist during Mass. When I was younger, I remember telling my parents, after receiving my First Communion, that the bread tasted like cardboard (yikes lol), and I wondered, why do we do this? For the majority of my life, I was oblivious to the truth about the Eucharist, especially to the beauty of it. A couple weekends ago, I was at Mass at Epiphany, and this little boy behind me said to his grandma (during the transubstantiation), “So THAT’s Jesus’ blood, and he’s gonna DRINK that?!?!” I giggled quietly with my mom, but later reminisced on my own ignorance at his age and for the majority of my life. In high school, through Epiphany, God revealed to me the first of many revelations of the Eucharist: the truth that He is truly present in the Eucharist and that it is not just a symbol. Through adoration, retreats, and frequenting Mass, I realized the beauty of Christ’s sacrifice which brought about our redemption. I hold Eucharistic Adoration especially dear to my heart because it is through Christ exposing His presence before my eyes (enveloped in the Holy Spirit around me) that I realized Christ’s intimate, personal love for me. The Eucharist reveals the truth that He gave His whole self and held nothing back so that our sins could be forgiven because He loves us. In college, God has revealed to me another revelation about the Eucharist: that receiving the Eucharist is a union with Christ. As I grow closer to my faith, my heart desires holiness, in other words: union with Christ. In Mother Teresa’s book “Come Be my Light,” she mentions how, in her suffering, she leans on Christ in the Eucharist, mentioning how the Eucharist is woven in her flesh - that Christ is woven in her heart and in everything she does. This is where she finds true joy and meaning in life. After reading this, I realized the truth of our dependence upon Christ. Our hearts were made by and for our Creator who is love. So, it is natural that we long for love, and it is essential that we realize that this love we thirst for can only be satisfied by Christ, in the Eucharist. I have realized that, in my weakness and humanness, I have an innate need for this mercy and love to be fully alive. In life, there will be many wounds and struggles, and this is why He gave us the Eucharist, so that we can be constantly reminded that He is stronger than our weaknesses and that, in Him, we are healed. I like to imagine the tissue in my heart is separated and in need of healing; and when I receive the Eucharist, the tissue in my heart attaches and becomes one with Christ, and I can breathe again, my heart beats again, and I am fully alive. With the Eucharist, I am constantly healed from life’s wounds and reminded of His perfect sacrifice; this union with Christ reveals to us the way He calls us to allow Him to enter into our hearts that He may enter into our wounds, heal them, and reveal to us the greatness He calls us to. Sin always wounds, but the Eucharist heals and allows us to see who we truly are in the Light of Love: His beloved son/daughter. This union with Christ, in the Eucharist, is not only a reminder of His selfless sacrifice, but also is a calling to a way of life. When we realize our dependence upon God, Christ stirs in our hearts, slowly revealing who He wants us to be and how we can better love Him and those around us. You see, we do not know our hearts or who we are fully, but Christ knows our hearts. Deep down, at the core of your heart, God has written your innate desire to be fully you, and the only One who can reveal to us the fullness of who we are is our Creator. To be united with God is to know ourselves more fully. When we receive Christ, we receive Love, Mercy, Goodness, Kindness, Compassion, and Joy: the things our heart most longs for. In life, I have realized that the desires in my heart are, deep down, an ache and a longing for Christ. And what better way to be in relationship with Christ than in the Eucharist, where He is fully present. “Once you understand the Eucharist, you can never leave the church. Not because the church won’t let you, but because your heart won’t let you.”
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If you remember our guest speaker, Dan Harms, from several weeks ago, you might remember that he had several very interesting stories to tell. When I listened to him talk to the junior high students, he told us a story about a girl that he had met the summer before 9th grade - his first love. Every day, they would go to the pool and hang out. His family and her family would invite each other over for dinner, and everything was sunshine and rainbows. Who is this girl to him now? Nobody! That’s right! He doesn’t even know who she is, where she lives, or anything else about her. You might ask “Why?” Well, he never had any way of communicating with her after that summer. The relationship between the two died because you can’t really know someone if you never talk with them. It is the same with our relationship with God. We can’t know God if we never talk to Him. We communicate with God through prayer. This past Sunday, we had an awesome opportunity to spend dedicated time praying. Whether you decided to journal, pick up a Bible, pray the rosary, or do something else that you felt most natural with, you had some time to take a break from the world around you and focus on further developing your relationship with God. The whole point of prayer is strengthening this relationship. There are many different ways to pray, and there isn’t really a way to do it incorrectly. I usually just close my eyes and talk to God about whatever is on my heart like a conversation with a friend, but when I don’t know what words to use, I find it most helpful to look through scripture or to sing along to praise and worship music. The most important thing is doing whatever is most natural for you because that is what will make you feel most connected with God. Challenge yourself every day this week to set aside time to pray. Being busy with school makes it seem hard to take time to do this, so maybe consider praying first thing in the morning or right before you go to bed. Hopefully, you’ll find that this quiet time with God will help to bring you closer to Him and to generally be happier every day. |
AuthorYour confirmation teachers - Kathleen, Eric, Sophia, and Valerie, and with contributions from 410 alumni Archives
September 2021
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