In
initiating the eucharist, Christ calls upon his disciples to “do this in memory
of me” Yet Mary in her past always calls upon the disciples and – we as well by
extension today – to faithfully do whatever Christ calls us to do. (Wedding at
Cana – do whatever he tells you cf John 2:5). (54)
Mary
seems to call upon the community not to doubt or waver but to trust in hers son
since if he was able to turn water into wine, turn bread and wine into his body
and blood, Christ then is the one who offers the life giving element-
symbolically presented in the Eucharist. Jesus, by consecrating his body into a
life giving bread, calls upon us to be consecrated people. Mary lived by the
example when she first offered her womb as a channel for the messiah’s incarnation.
From Mary, we can learn that keeping ourselves pure is essential since our
bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Mary,
in her accepting the words of the angel and letting the will of God be done in
her life shows a perfect example and reminds us that doing the good should be
the driving force in the life of each one of us. By professing the catholic
faith, we believe that what we receive is the real body and blood of Christ,
(55) and blessed is he who believes. Just like Mary was blessed in believing
and letting the will of God be done in her life.
The
church, being the custodian of the doctrinal teachings and tradition is
reminded to have Mary as focal point of reference and source of example,
strength and renewal. This will enable her to carefully tread along the right
path and at the end lead all souls to salvation.
Brief
reflection from Ecclesia de Eucharistia of
Pope John Paul II
****
Christians
are considered pilgrims on a journey; through which they expect to attain
victory and enjoy the beatific vision of God. In all, a journey however, there
are several occurrences including those of joy, sadness, challenges and
difficulties among many others. So what happens in the event of all these?
Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist which was and still is meant to be part
of the church’s pilgrimage through history (30).
First and foremost, in as much as it prepares
us to battle and withstand the imminent challenges, the Eucharist as well
offers us a real foretaste of the eschatological fulfillment we are geared
to. Why does the Eucharist so much have
to be part of our guide in the journey towards the eschaton? Simply put,
through the fall, man lost his real sacred union with God. So since his free
will was the culmination of his self-wounding and vulnerability in sin, he
needs a guide on this journey towards his final destination so to say. This
guide can only be granted by one who was able to conquer sin and death yet he
has to do it in a way that is realistic and so down to earth hence he offered
us his Eucharist.
In
a journey as well, we need one another for the purposes of strength and union
to move it on. Christ, through the Eucharist, gathers us all together into a
family of the people of God and this becomes fulfillment of Gods covenantal
promise to the forefathers to gather all the people into a family of the people
of God. (31)
The
Eucharist therefore has to be understood from a perspective of -God- gathering
his people into an eschatological community, enabling his people to enjoy a
foretaste of the final promise of the heavenly glory. By partaking in the Eucharistic meal, all are
assured that at the end of their earthly journey, they shall hence enjoy the
glory of God which is eternal life.
Brief
reflection from Sacramentum Caritatis
of Pope Benedict XVI
****
Eucharist: A source of
reconciliation, justice and peace
Through
the Eucharist; Christ hasexpressed love and deep compassion and true meaning of
a gift which was in offering himself for the salvation of all peoples. Through
the cross, he is able to draw all people to himself (9). Jesus was able to (while
giving himself up) express the will of the trinity and specifically the father
which is salvation of the fallen humanity. In the last supper, by his words “do
this in memory of me,” Jesus is inviting us to keep taking an active part in
the Eucharistic celebration commemorating the past bondage -in the slavery in
Egypt-and anticipation of the salvation yet to come in the eschaton (10) and
taking Jesus as the universal model for the sake of salvation and service of
offering others since we are a chosen race. He as well teaches us obedience,
even to the extent of offering oneself for martyrdom in fulfilling the
everlasting covenant of God (9).
All
of us are humans and therefore in one way or another mislead by our egoistic
drives, here Jesus calls upon us to surely imitate him by putting aside our
personal interests and selfish drives especially when it comes to our living
with others and relating to the whole of God’s creation. Taking part in service
teaches us to respect and to love one another since all people become one and
the same chosen people; equal in the face of God through the Eucharistic
sacrifice of his one beloved son. This is a love in its most crucial and
radical form (9).
Jesus
invites us to build a just, free, loving and fraternally comfortable world;
this is emphasized by the fact that the Eucharistic sacrifice is a communal
rather than private affair.
In
this way, the Eucharistic sacrifice becomes a source of justice and peace, a
source for the renewal of our baptismal commitment and faithfulness to our call
to mission and witness through the three fold royal, priestly and prophetic
offices we are given by Christ, we are invited to positively affect the fabric
of the society. (92) To develop a deep and profound Eucharistic spirituality
that makes us conscious of God’s creation making us aspire to have it
sanctified to the end of time. We are reminded that everything comes from God
and we are hence supposed to appreciate by loving and taking care of both other
humans and Gods creation at large, leaving aside our personal differences
through reconciliation and forgiveness thereby offering a clean and worthy
sacrifice to God.
***
IMPORTANT OFFICE OF IMMENSE LOVE
Pope Paul VI referred
to the Eucharist as an important office of immense love. LOVE, is that personal
orientation that can lead me and you to follow Christ’s self giving and emulate
it in our relation to the other. For this however to be effectively achieved;
we must appreciate that love for the Eucharist leads to a growing appreciation
of the sacrament of reconciliation. (20)
through the sacrament of reconciliation, God offers us the chance to
repent and run back to him as a servant.
Rationalization
and the habitual way of life always makes Christians develop a tendency to
always feel worthy and sinless (or their consciences no longer calls upon them
to reflect and clean their hearts). This loss of consciousness of sin reduces
ones understanding and so there’s is a tendency to treats God’s gift of self
giving superficially. The sacrament of the Eucharist is meant to express to us
the ever present love of God; it as well reminds us that sin wounds our relationship
with God and his entire creation.
Christians must respond to the call to participate in the sacrament of
the Eucharist by first purifying themselves with the sacrament of
reconciliation.
The active participation
is not only limited to the Christians who however, as called upon by the Holy
Father frequently undertake and actively participate into the sacrament by
ensuring “reinvigorated catechesis on the conversion and encouraging frequent
reception of the sacrament of reconciliation among the faithful. (21) Where as
bishops should offers magisterial and pastoral teachings, priests, religious
consecrated men and women and the laity have to be committed and generous
enough to offer them to positively respond to the call of Christ and receive
him whole heartedly.
As Christians,
we must always bear in mind that our life is full of challenges and
temptations, we are prone to sin but Christ, being merciful offers himself in a
sacramental way both for the remission of sins and to accompany us in a way
that helps us in responding faithfully to the challenges of the world as we
appreciate our inability to adequately respond to the challenges on our own
accord.
The sacrament of
reconciliation brings us back to God and enables us to make positive relations
to those around us. This is surely a constant call for us to examine our
personal lives through moments of retreats, recollection and silent prayers
prior to taking an active part in the Eucharistic sacrifice. A heart reconciled
to God makes genuine participation possible. (55)
With all these,
we are soon able to look at the Eucharist from the perspective of God as
offering himself in humility for the salvation of the human race.
****
Eucharist a mystery and gift to
humanity. Source: Sacramentum Caritatis
Allan Induswe
Through
the Eucharist, Jesus Christ expresses a deep love and compassion yet a real
impression of what it is to love; even to move further and offer his life for the salvation of all humanity. Through the self
giving, Jesus expresses the will of the father, which is salvation of the whole
humanity. By instituting the Eucharist and sacrificing himself on the cross, Jesus
expresses the idea of a memory… “Do this in memory of me” this is a constant
invitation and reminder that we should keep participating in the Eucharistic
sacrifice while regarding Jesus as the universal model in relation to our
offering ourselves to the service of others selflessly.
By
taking part in the sacrifice, the element of love is emphasized in the sense
that, while we I opt to take part in the service, I join someone else with whom
I do not know yet we all get united in Christ as a community of love. This
teaches us to have an aspect of respect and affection both for Christ who
unites us and the other participants in the sacrifice, without regarding our
other differences. The Eucharistic sacrifice mysterious makes us equal in the
face of God. Jesus therefore invites us to create a free and just society, a
loving and fraternal world.( emphasis on the Eucharistic sacrifice as communal
and not a private affair.)
Jesus
Christ invites men and women to all races to commit themselves to unity,
charity and service of one another for the salvation of souls and the greater
glory of God in this mysterious meal of his memory. Therefore, the Eucharist becomes
a source and reminder of our baptismal commitment, and the fullness of the call
to the mission of being witnesses (through the baptismal royal, priestly and
prophetic offices of Christ) to the ever present love of God.
Finally,
the promise of eternal salvation is very evident in that; While Jesus promised
to be with the church till the end of times, he further promised that he shall
come to receive his faithful at the eschaton where we shall enjoy the fruit of
eternal life and the beatific vision. They earthly church however has to
actively take part in the Eucharistic sacrifice which gives them the strength
to move on and take part in the role left to it by Christ, i.e working for the
salvation of souls.
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