Do we realize?
Sr. Maria del Carmen Checa, S.H.M.
"He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. He destined us in love to be His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Ef.1:4-6)
Among ourselves, among Catholics, I suppose that the reality of the fact that God exists is undeniable, but what is no longer so certain is that we realize that God, the LIVING GOD, is truly present among us in the Eucharist.
How many times do we genuflect half-way, without making the effort to reach the floor with our knees? How many times are we present during the moment of the Consecration, thinking of something else, and we do not remember that it is the Son of God who is being lifted up on high to bring all men unto Himself? How many times are we before Him without our face falling?
And Our Lord is truly present in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! He is a Person and, as such, He knows us. He is more intimate to us than our own intimacy. He loves us, He looks at us, He consoles us, He cleans us, He speaks to us, He hears us, He transforms us... and He gives Himself to us as our food. Christ present in the Eucharist is God infinitely pure, perfect, good, wise, powerful, and eternal, the beginning and end of all things. The Eucharist is the most amazing divine invention. “Invented” by God out of love, out of a great madness of love for man.
Do we realize that He is our creator, the creator of the universe, He who maintains us in existence because He loves us?
Do we realize that we are present before Almighty God who does everything and as much as He wants?
Do we realize that He wants to manifest His glory in us?
Do we realize that we are present before Him who is three times holy?
Do we realize that we are present before Him who is the Light of the world?
Do we realize that we are present before God who is Love?
Do we realize that we are present before the Way, the Truth, and the Life?
Do we realize that we are present before Him who can reward or punish us according to our works?
Do we realize that we are present before the merciful God, faithful to man, who never abandons us and who offers us his forgiveness?
Do we realize that we are present before Him who sees everything, before the One who is omnipresent and unchangeable?
Do we realize that we are present before the Blessed Trinity, God One and Three?
Sometimes we forget, other times maybe we do not have the purity of heart to be able to see with faith:
“ Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Other times we are not able to penetrate the mystery because it is so immense and our nature is too small. We will never have even a glimpse of what “God with us” means. Even so, we can dispose ourselves, helped by the Holy Spirit, recognizing the divinity of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, in spite of the fact that we do not perceive Him with our senses. Lord, increase our faith so that we may believe!
Who am I not to kneel and prostrate my soul before God upon entering into His presence? Who am I not to put my mouth in the dust? Who am I not to kneel down in the moment when the change of substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is to occur? We are before a living Person, who is not only a piece of bread and a little wine. Do we not realize it?
It is not we who make the visit to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, it is He who grants us the privilege of receiving us into His presence. What less can we do before the Prince of Glory than ask Him permission to be with Him or to withdraw from His presence?
God-Love in the Eucharist makes me one with Him, upon receiving Him I am divinized, He makes me participate in His life. Let us allow the intense, divine love that is contained in the Eucharist transform our lives. Let us allow our heart of stone to be melted in His presence, beneath His gaze.
Do we realize?
©HM Magazine No. 121 - November/December 2004
