Finally, the conclusion of the letter I wrote for my friend's theology project:
Relationships are about making sacrifices, dying to self so that (you and) others may share in Eternal Life. Relationships are about being present, truly present, REALly present to one another, transgressions and all. Eucharist reminds us that each and every single one of us is responsible for Christ being present on the Altar. We have done things we shouldn’t have done, made choices we regret. We have the opportunity to offer them up, be free of our guilt, so that we can LIVE again.
And yet, if our sins hadn’t necessitated the presence of Christ, we would never have had Christ. “Oh happy fault!” the evangelists say. I used to think this was such a moronic statement. It helps to remind ourselves that the Father sent His only begotten Son. Sacrifices were made; even the Lord of the Universe must humble himself. Why? so that WE could rise to meet Him in all His Glory!!! In all our glory, as our most beautiful selves, the person we are when we Love unconditionally.
Eucharist is about Love. If you’ve ever fallen in love, you know. If you’ve ever rocked a baby to sleep in your arms or clasped the hand of an elderly patient, you know. If you’ve ever looked deep within your soul, you know. Love is there, palpable and compelling.
Eucharist is about relationships, eternal relationships, for which we make sacrifices in the name of Love. When you truly, deeply, and knowingly love another, you go to extraordinary lengths to demonstrate that Love. Transubstantiation defies everything we know. If God, the highest, most sublime, most Supreme, the Almighty, can do this, so must we. We must go to incredible, seemingly impossible, lengths to demonstrate how much we Love each other.
We must work for Justice, we must live in Peace, we must avoid Evil. We must feed the hungry, visit the sick, care for those imprisoned. We must NOT sin.
If you think this sounds too simple, try it. Try to not sin. Try to end injustice throughout the entire globe. Try being virtuous consistently for one entire day from sunup to sundown.
We must transubstantiate ourselves every day. We must be everything our fallen natures find impossible or inconvenient. It’s very very very difficult being kind 24/7. To everyone. It’s difficult to accept that life is not always fair, that sometimes what we want most in life is not what God has planned for us. It’s not always deliberately manifest that God loves us unconditionally.
But we offer that up! Eucharist is the most hopeful thing we can do. When life makes us feel cheated, angry, depressed, hurt, inconsolable, weary, or indifferent, Christ offers us the antidote. Christ restores us in the Eucharist. Christ heals. Christ makes it all matter. Christ makes it all better. Christ does NOT make it all go away, rather He redeems it. Eucharist is about seeing possibilities where before lay only shadows, doubts, and fears.
Eucharist is about Christ being present with us in the here-and-now, our daily Cross, our daily bread. Christ comes to us as Flesh and Blood, Food and Drink. Christ is present to us in the most familiar activity universal to all people and vital to human existence. When we partake in the Eucharist, when we open our mouths to receive Him, we take our portion of Christ. We accept ALL. We choose to become familiar with the Cross, to grow in intimate relationship with the God who sustains us.
None of us can be perfect; that is already accomplished. What we can do is give of ourselves even when it makes the least sense or seems least deserved…especially then. Give, give, give, and then give some more. Defy the logic of comfort, deny the luxury of choice, and decry the laxity of conscience. Eucharist is a letting go: of sinful behaviors, of our idea of how things should happen, of regret about the past or anxiety about the future. Eucharist moves us to make Christ fully present in the way we conduct our lives. Eucharist compels us to allow God to enter in. Eucharist thrusts us into a life which is full, entire, and true.
Eucharist is everything God is.
Here. Love. Ours.
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