“Hoc est Corpus meum, quod pro vobis tradetur.”
TAKEN, BLESSED, BROKEN, GIVEN
“I have found it helpful to use four words:
taken, blessed, broken and given.
These words summarize my life as a priest because each day,
when I come together around the table with members of my community,
I take bread, bless it, break it and give it.
These words also summarize my life as a Christian because,
as a Christian, I am called to become bread for the world:
bread that is taken, blessed, broken and given.
Most importantly, however, they summarize my life as a human being because in every moment of my life
somewhere, somehow the taking., the blessing,
the breaking and
the giving are happening....
(H Nouwen, Life of the Beloved)
“For us, the words of institution
must be more than a formula of
consecration,
they must be a ‘formula of
life.’
(John Paul II, Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2005, 1)
“We are chosen, blessed and broken to be given,
not only in life, but in death
as well. ...
You and I would dance for joy were we to know truly that we,
little people,
are chosen, blessed, and broken
to become the bread that will multiply itself in the giving.
The unfathomable mystery of God
is that God is a Lover who
wants to be loved.
The one who created us
is waiting for our response to
the love that gave us our being.
God not only says: "You are my Beloved."
God also asks: "Do you love me?"
and offers us countless chances
to say "Yes."
Once you are able to catch a glimpse of this spiritual vision,
you can see how the many distinctions that are so central in our daily
living
lose their meaning.
When joy and pain
are both opportunities to say
"yes" to our divine childhood,
then they are more alike than
they are different.
When, finally, both living and dying bring us closer
to the full realization of our
spiritual selfhood,
they are not the great
opposites the world would have us believe;
they are, instead, two sides of
the same mystery of God's love.
Living the spiritual life means living life as one unified reality.
The forces of darkness
are the forces that split,
divide, and set in opposition.
The forces of light unite.
Literally, the word "diabolic" means dividing.
The demon divides; the Spirit unites.”
(H Nouwen, Life of the Beloved)
SOURCE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
“The Eucharist is the source of the Christian life
because whoever shares in it
receives the motivation and
strength to live as a true Christian.
Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross
imparts to the believer the
dynamism of his generous love;
the Eucharistic banquet nourishes the faithful
with the Body and Blood of the
Divine Lamb sacrificed for them,
and it gives them strength to
follow in his footsteps.”
“The Eucharist … is its fountainhead.
The Eucharist feeds and forms the Church.”
“The Church lives by the Eucharist.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 128, 129, 134)
SUMMIT OF CHRISTIAN LIVING
“The Eucharist is the summit of the whole Christian life
because the faithful bring to it
all their prayers and good
works,
their joys and sufferings.
Our modest offerings are then united
to the perfect sacrifice of
Christ,
and are thus completely
sanctified
and lifted up to God in an act
of perfect worship
that brings the faithful
into divine intimacy.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 129)
“In this celebration, the fruits of the earth and the work of human
hands—
the bread and wine—
are transformed mysteriously,
but really and substantially…
into the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ…”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 135)
“At Mass, the offerings of all converge:
of happiness and suffering,
of apostolic efforts and
fraternal services of all kinds.
The Lord associates the sacrifices of his brothers and sisters
with his own sacrifice.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 132)
“[T]he Lord …takes them up into himself
in order to offer himself to
the Father
and to offer us with himself
in the renewal of his one
sacrifice….”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 135)
“Once the assembly disperses,
Christ’s disciples return to their everyday surroundings
with the commitment to make
their whole life a gift,
a spiritual sacrifice pleasing
to God.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 131)
ABIDING PRESENCE
“There must be a certain sadness in his love,
as he regards my own self-centered coldness,
my imperfections and my
infidelities.
Yet in spite of my cheap smugness,
in spite of the fact that my own mother couldn’t love me
if she saw me as Christ sees
me,
He is reaching out to me with a prodigality of love
that must leave the angels
breathless as they contemplate it;
a love as real, as palpable (could I but feel it)
as an arm about my shoulders.
And there I kneel,
absently biting at a callous on
my thumb,
idly noticing a worn spot on
the sanctuary carpet,
glancing at my watch to see
if I’ve put in a passable
amount of time and can leave now.
If only he would lean out and slap me in the face,
instead of enfolding me so
gently with his love!”
(L Trese, A Man Approved, 128-129)
SUNDAY
“Sunday is our weekly Easter. …
[I]t cuts through human time—
the months, the years, the
centuries—
like a directional arrow that
points them towards their target:
Christ’s Second Coming.
Sunday foreshadows the last day,
the day of the Parousia.”
“Christians know
that there is no need to wait
for another time of salvation,
since, however long the world
may last,
they are already living in the
last times.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace, 130,131)
Mary, Ark of the New Covenant,
make me hunger for the company of your Son Jesus in the Eucharist.
O good and gentle Jesus,
teach me to love you in the Eucharist!
Credo et amo et adoro te devote, latens Deitas.
C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\RETREAT\crt_16LastSupper&Eucharist.rtf
Revised 24 March 2005