Teach us how to pray, the disciples asked Jesus. This is the longing of our
souls. We want to pray. We want to be with God. Prayer is what we are about,
not just here in Church but as people committed to Jesus Christ. We need to nurture our dialogue with
him, our prayer Life. We come to Mass at San Francesco di Paola to pray the
Lord’s Supper as a community and to reverence the Lord within us in
communion. We call out to the Lord
throughout our day whether it is simply grace before meals, or speaking to the
Lord the three meditations: God loves me unconditionally, God forgives me and
God is with me. Our days are meant to be united to God in prayer. Prayer
expresses who we are, the People of God[1].
We need each other for our prayer life to grow. We
need each other so we can really celebrate God’s presence to such an extent
that He becomes present on the altar through the gift of Holy Orders.
Sometimes, I come upon people who say that they don’t attend Church, but they
pray on their own. I think it is great that they are praying, but I also know
that they are depriving themselves of the greatest prayer, the prayer of Jesus
Christ at the Last Supper, on the Cross and at Easter. It is great that they
are praying alone, but by refusing to join the community they are depriving
themselves of the Eucharist.
Maybe we all need to reflect a bit about the mystery
of the Eucharist. We go to
communion so often that it is easy for us to forget what we are doing and whom
we are receiving. When we receive communion, Jesus Christ comes inside of us. He
is closer to us than our skin. When we receive communion, we worship Him within
us with our whole being. All of us love Eucharistic Adoration. All of us love
reverencing the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, when the Lord is exposed in the
monstrance or processed around the congregation. Eucharistic adoration is
wonderful. But there is something infinitely better than Eucharistic
Adoration. That is receiving
communion. No Eucharistic service is better than receiving communion. In a few
moments and every time we receive communion we take Jesus within our selves. He
is there at the Last Supper, looking at each person here and saying this is my
body, this is my blood, take and eat, take and drink. When we receive communion Jesus is present on the cross
saying, “My body is given up for you.
My blood is yours. Even if
you were the only person to ever live, I would still accept the cross for you. I want to be inside you. I want you to have my body and blood.”
So, when we receive communion, Jesus is present within us at the Resurrection.
This is the food of the new life of the Kingdom, the food of eternity, the
bread of angels.
Jesus once told the story about a jewel merchant who
came upon a valuable pearl. When he found it, he sold everything he had so he
could possess it. We have the Pearl of Great Price offered to us every day. The
Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Presence of the Living Lord at the Last Supper,
on the Cross and at the Resurrection is within us whenever we receive
communion.
Teach
us to pray, Lord, the apostles
asked. He taught them the Lord’s Prayer, and He gave us the Eucharist. I invite you today, I challenge you
today to enter into deep adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every time you
receive communion.
We need to pray. We harbor, we treasure the presence
of Christ within each of us, within our homes and in our community. We need to make time every day to
recognize this presence within us.
We need to pray. We need to
stop and hear the Lord in the silence.
We cannot allow the many concerns of our lives to hide the only thing
that matters, the presence of Jesus–His presence within us, His presence in
those we love, His presence in those who reach out to us. We cannot allow anything to dull this
presence, His Presence.
When we make the time to be in His presence, when we
join Mary of Bethany in just enjoying the Lord in our lives, we will find
ourselves walking a road less traveled, a road of serenity in the middle of
hectic activity. When we choose to
nurture the presence of the Lord within us, we, like Mary, will be choosing the
better part ■
[1]
Sunday 28th July, 2013, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Readings: Genesis
18:20-32. Lord, on the day I called for
help, you answered me - Ps 137(138):1-3, 6-8. Colossians 2:12-14. Luke
11:1-13 [St James].
