Thoughts on Holy Thursday and Good Friday 2008

HOLY THURSDAY

On Holy Thursday the Church calls us to mediate on the Eucharist,
the Eucharist which is the summit and sacrament of God's presence in our lives.

At the Last Supper Jesus said....
This is my body which will be given up for you.
this is the cup of my blood...
Do this in memory of me...

As very little boy one of my earliest memories is of being afraid of the shadow which the ceiling light threw on my wall over the window. Some how I convinced myself that it was a monster or a space ship with a monster and I knew it was a shadow but I could not shake my fear. I also new that I could get rid of the shadow but when it came to weighing my fear of the dark and my fear of the "monster" the monster won. With the light on at least I could see him coming.... with the lights out who knew.

When I would eventually fall asleep sometimes I would wake up with a nightmare of the "shadow monster" on several occasions I must have made noise because I would wake up with my Mom or Dad sitting on my bed... All they would say was "I'm here," "I'm here Robbie" and my fears would fade away and I would go right back to sleep. BTW I eventually killed the monster by removing the lampshade of the ceiling light. No lampshade no shadow, no monster.

When things are going crazy
When we are absorbed in the all the worries that life can bring
When loneliness or lack of relationship or misunderstandings isolate us
When we face a challenge like our own illness or the illness of a loved one
Whenever fear is part of our lives

God is present to us
Yes present to us in many ways but...
Present to us in the most perfect real way in the Eucharist

With the Eucharist ...
God sits on our bed and simply says...
"It's OK I am here"

The Eucharist also transforms us
The Eucharist gives us an example of the profoundly humble love of God
and challenges us to imitate it in our daily lives

The celebration of the Eucharist is wonderfully connected to God's ultimate sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary

Thank you Lord for the Gift of the Eucharist which frees us from fear and calls us to a greater union with you and our brothers and sisters.

There is so much more you could say about the Eucharist.... but for today all I'll say is

The Eucharist is .... God's "I'm here "

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for your presence in this Eucharist:
in the Word proclaimed in the Church, in the priest,
and most of all in the sacrament of your Body and Blood.
May we always recognize you in our midst;
may we come one day to see you face to face,
to be with you for ever.
Amen.

GOOD FRIDAY

On Good Friday we have the chance to reflect on the nature of love....
The cross teaches us that dying is an inescapable part of love
To love one has to be willing to die to him/herself
Die to our preference
Die to our pride
Die to even our legitimate desires
Love and sacrifice go hand in hand

When I say I love you it is like saying I will die for you...
In big ways and small over and over and over again
I love you

Yes on the cross Jesus paid the price of our sin
but from the cross Jesus also taught us how to live and to love

When we look at the Cross, all of us have to ask ourselves...
How much have I really loved ?

We adore you O Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy Cross
You have redeemed the world.