In a homily Pope St. John Paul II gave on an apostolic trip to America, he offered this inspiring description of the Eucharist as the fullest expression of God’s love: “The Gospel of God’s love…finds its highest expression in the Eucharist. In the Mass and in Eucharistic Adoration we meet the merciful love of God that passes through the Heart of Jesus Christ.” Take a moment and imagine how this might work: God sends us His eternal, unfailing, perfect love to us through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, made present as His holy Body and Blood for us in the Blessed Sacrament. We have the privilege of seeing, touching, feeling, and tasting the love of God!
Pope Benedict XVI wrote of the Eucharist, “The love that we celebrate in the sacrament is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all. What the world needs is God’s love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in him…Truly, nothing is more beautiful than to know Christ and to make him known to others.” (Sacramentum Caritatis, #84). Wow–this is convicting to me! I cannot keep God’s love to myself. I must witness to His love to everyone I encounter in some way, shape, or form. This causes me to reflect on the fact that God feeds me in the Eucharist not merely for myself, but so I can bring His love to others. God’s love is for me, but not just for me!
So how can I live this out in my everyday life? Benedict offers comforting wisdom: “The celebration and worship of the Eucharist enable us to draw near to God’s love and to persevere in that love until we are united with the Lord whom we love” (Sacramentum Caritatis, #94). Jesus Himself in the Eucharist gives us everything we need to be close to Him so that I might witness to His love. I don’t have to do this on my own–I just need to remain united to Christ, the True Vine (John 15), and the Holy Spirit of Love will flow through me to others, so long as I cooperate with the promptings of the Holy Spirit and I don’t get in the way!
Jesus, help me to listen to the Holy Spirit and act on His promptings. May I allow Your love to flow through me to others. Help me bring Your love to others as a witness to the love I have experienced. Let me encounter You so that You can encounter others through me.