You will become both Light, and Fire When you come to adoration, hold yourself before My Eucharistic Face like a mirror before the sun. Thus will you capture the radiance, of my Countenance and the fire that blazes in My Heart; thus will you become both light and fire for souls plunged into darkness and hearts grown cold. --In Sinu Jesu (When Heart Speaks to Heart). No matter what religion one follows, or what spiritual path traveled upon, if it is not done in a mindful manner, it can become ‘dead’, lifeless, a shell, without any life. For Catholics, the Eucharist is central to our faith. For in the Eucharist, Jesus is still among us in a powerful sacramental way. How mindful a Catholic is when he receives the Eucharist at Mass, or in times of simply being in the presence of the Sacrament, will dictate how the grace of the sacrament, will deepen one's faith in God, and love, of others. Christians, are called to a deep, intimate, personal, and loving relationship, with Jesus Christ. Our faith, the sacraments, and the sacramental aspects of our devotional life can draw us deeper into the mystery of God’s infinite love, for each human being. The ‘Heart of Jesus Christ’, called the ‘Sacred Heart’ by Catholics, points to the perfect humanity of Jesus Christ, and His loving intention for all of mankind. Jesus, the creator, the upholder of the Universe, became man so that he could incarnate in each of us, lifting us up with him, into the dance of the Holy Trinity. By allowing the love of God into our hearts, we are saying yes to the influence of grace, and the deepening love, and healing, that flows like living water, from that experience. This is a conscious, freely chosen choice. Not to make that conscious choice, is to doom ourselves into having a childish, instead of a childlike relationship with the Trinity. God is other, yet love and Jesus reveals that to us. For as Jesus said, “To see me is to see the Father”. So we are called to allow the life of Jesus to become one with our own often broken, fearful, and anxiety, driven hearts. We seek to allow our own humanity to grow as we experience the love of God in our hearts. We become fire, we become love, we become compassion, and we learn not to fear, as Jesus did not fear, the unique suffering that is the fruit of that love. That is how we unite ourselves to the sufferings of Christ, the suffering of love, for the salvation of all. Priest are the servants, of the servants of God. They are called in a special way to become a light unto others. It is a vocation, which comes with a high price, for those priest who live out their vocation, to become a channel of the sacramental life for Catholics. All Christians, be they Catholics or not, are also priest (the priesthood of the faithful), we also are called to become lights of love towards others. Yet it can only happen when we invite the life of Jesus Christ, into our hearts at ever deeper levels. We look to Jesus and do not allow our failures, or the many often serious disillusionments of priest and our fellow Christians, to deter us. For the more we learn of the mercy bestow on us, the more we desire it for all, and realize that the love that God has for us, is there for everyone. At Mass, Catholic’s unite themselves to the moment when Christ, instituted the Sacrament. It is a moment that stretches out both forward in time, as well as incorporating the past. Christ becomes present in a very special manner in the priest when he says the words of consecration, and all Christians partake of that to the level that they open up their hearts, and deepen their understanding of what is happening. We are all called to minister to all, and as well, to allow others to minister to us. We are called to think before reacting. To interact with others. To listen, encourage, love and respect all whom we meet. When fear, and anger, control what is happening between peoples, there is no listening, but only prejudices, stereotyping, and the destruction of the humanity of the supposed enemy. Jesus belongs to no one, we all belong to Jesus. Let us pray for all, and seek to allow grace to expand our hearts so that we will become ‘fire’ and ‘light’. –Br.MD
