The Eucharist: An Everyday Miracle

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On Saturday I spoke at my community's Solemn Eucharistic Adoration for five minutes. I thought I would get more mileage out of the talk and use it for my post this week!  I hope you find it inspiring. . . .

At one of our schools, a teacher was taking her little ones to chapel. As they passed classrooms, the teacher said, “Children be very quiet, so quiet that no one knows we are coming, not even Jesus.” As the children filed into chapel, suddenly one little girl called out, “Surprise!” She knew Jesus was there.
Pagans worshiped gods of stone and wood, and we wonder how they could do that. Well, some people wonder how we Catholics can worship bread and wine! Because are blessed with the gift of faith. We believe that Jesus is really, truly present physically, sublimely in the Eucharist. We call this miracle the Real Presence. It is real, not fake news. When Jesus says, “This is my body. This is my blood,” we take his word for it. A Protestant woman once remarked, “If I believed what you believe, I would go down the aisle of church on my knees.” Author Annie Dilliard observed that we should all be wearing crash helmets to church. But for us, who experience the Eucharist every week or even every day, it is easy to take this miracle for granted. We get used to it and forget how stupendous it is. We are like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus was walking right alongside them, but they didn’t realize it. Today let’s deepen our awareness of the Real Presence, of Jesus who accompanies us on our journey. Let's rejuvenate our Eucharistic amazement. Click to continue

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