Take this, all of you, and eat it

by Veronica G. 

I spent this morning in the garden with my husband.  We put down weed block, and planted rows of vegetables and fruits.  I've always loved gardening with my husband. His tenderness over a seedling, his notice of tiny buds on almost bare sticks, the way he recognizes a tiny growth under a flower as the first sign of a blueberry.  The way he loves the changes and always notices growth with optimism has helped me better understand our Father as a Gardner. Through my husband, I better understand the tenderness, hope, and joy God has in us in even the smallest sign of life, growth, and fruitfulness. 

I love this time of year because of the bounty of our table. We eat greens and vegetables with abandon. On Saturday morning, we hurry to the Farmer's Market to see what glory God has provided for us this week.  Today for lunch we ate a delicious meal of Rainbow Chard and Eggs which we call, "Eggs in a Nest". 

When I was cooking it, I was struck by how the meal reminded me of communion. 

I was hungry for lunch and excited to eat with my family.  I began to reflect on the precious meal we share with God and each other at Mass. These are some of my thoughts. 

to be Hungry

There are so many things we can do to more fully enter into receiving communion.  One of these is Fast.  Fasting before a meal helps us "save our appetites" for it and really appreciate the food on the table. Fasting before Mass helps us feel our physical hunger.  If we are hungry when we go up to receive Communion, we are able to realize that the meal we are receiving is so small. We recognize the physically tiny Host and the sip of Precious Blood would never remove our physical hunger, satisfy us, or let alone fill us.  

to be Filled

We can transform that physical experience of hunger through fasting into a spiritual one.  Realizing that we desperately hunger for God.  We come before Him at Mass, spiritually hungry and needy.  While we receive a physical "snack", the power of Holy Spirit comes upon the Host and begins to transform a regular meal (bread and wine) into a sacrament - a moment where Heaven touches Earth - a special, holy moment where God and Human are united through eating the Body and Blood of Jesus.  

to be United with the Spirit through History

The meal we receive is HUGE. It is the culmination of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The meal we received yesterday, May 27, 2012 is the work of all of the Apostles, the Disciples, the Saints, the Priests, the Monks, the Popes, and all of our ancestors (mom and dad included) who were moved by the real Spirit to share the saving message of Jesus.  "this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven."  That we came before Jesus on the Altar yesterday at Mass, is the work of the Spirit moving in His people and in His Holy Church. The Church is alive with the Spirit.  

to be Forgiven Now

While Jesus died many, many years ago, His sacrifice for our salvation is happening now.  Communion is a Sacrament - a Sacred Moment - wherein Jesus' work of forgiveness and redemption happens.  At Mass, God's saving grace, through the sacrifice of Jesus is played out on the altar.  It is played out in our hearts as we open our mouths to receive His Body and Blood.  When we say that we believe in Jesus' body and blood offered up for our salvation - we are redeemed.  

to be Loved

God is taking time out of his busy day to eat with us and I'm so thankful for it.  He comes - to earth, to our sanctuary at St. Raphael, to our hands, to our tongues, to our souls - to feed us.  We are His children. We are special to Him.  He desires to care for us, to feed us, to fill us, to see us grow and bear fruit like those plants in the garden.  He wants us to be the people He created us to be.  The physical meal of the Body and Blood of Christ helps us as humans understand the desire God has to care for us.  He wants to feed us.  Not just physically, but in the depths of our souls. 

to Serve the Body

I love Mass, and I love Communion. For 10 years, I've served as a Eucharistic Minister (now Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist).  I have always loved it.  I have always loved serving the Body of Christ to the Body of Christ. I have always loved seeing the diversity of the Body of Christ - hands of all colors, hands of all ages, hands that are soft, hands that are ragged - all reaching up, with humility, asking to be fed.  

to Receive

I haven't had the experience lately because I've been called to love the Church in another way.  Caring for and feeding my own flesh and blood.  Springtime, the harvest, meals - they all have new significance for me.  As I see a weak, helpless creature at the table who needs to be fed.  Who makes a mess out of everything. Who can't care for herself.  Who needs me desperately to survive and one day thrive.  I see myself - a helpless creature.  I learn to understand why God loves me, and why God wants to feed me.  I have so many needs that I cannot meet on my own. I need Him to take care of me if I am ever going to grow up.  I need to open my mouth so he can feed me. 

to be United with the Body

The Eucharistic prayer begs of God, May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit."   When we gather at Mass, all of us with different needs, different hurts, different sins, different expectations of God's grace - we come forward and receive the same meal, the same Body, the same Blood, the same Jesus, the same Spirit.  Through this, we are united.  We recognize that we are all babies, we are all seeds - hoping to grow and grow up - into the beautiful creatures God has planned for us to be.