Bread of Life

As Fr Henry was celebrating Mass, he spoke about our gift of Jesus through the sacrament. Our readings are John 6 this week, the whole "I am the Bread of Life" theme. I didn't intentionally write about that yesterday, but as it always happens, I am reminded that I have spiritual connection with God that 'tells' me what to do that day, and it sometimes scares me when I arrive at Mass or check out some Catholic source and find out that it is exactly what the Church is doing...OK, it kind of "creeps me out," too. Why am I so linked into that which so often frustrates me, that which I argue with incessantly? How does HE know...and why does HE want me to know...I have been aware of this 'link with the universe' for about 15 years, but when I reflect on my life, I see it has always been there.
AND I am certain, that if YOU actually take the time to reflect on your own personal journey...you are going to find God was there with you, too...every step of the way, even the ones you didn't want anyone to know about!

So Fr Henry talks about the astonishing gift of Eucharist and I am reminded of a teaching I harped on in the Methodist Church, something that people spoke back to be often...especially when they were frustrated.
I told them, probably on a retreat, that when we enter into the Sacrifice of the "Last Supper" (I am thinking I used that kind of terminology with them), we are morally bound within Jewish law to each other at the "table." I mean, in Jewish tradition, if you share a meal with someone, you no longer have the right to kill that person. I don't know where I got that idea. I'm sure someone said it to me. But, if I break bread with you...I lose my right to kill you. And that means in any form. Not only must I honor your human body, I must honor your human mind and soul and spirit.

Think about how cool that would be...if Mass is always "one Mass" united with the whole world, as we pray in the Eucharist prayer and spoken of in the gospel of John: "May they be one, just as you and I, Father, are One." Well, then, if we really listened, then we'd have to stop all the wars and violence and cruelty and slander toward each other...In fact, if we are One with Christ, then when we sin against another, we are also sinning against ourselves.

If I hurt you, then I am hurting me, too. Not to hard to get to that conclusion. If I forgive you, then I am forgiving me. Dare to believe it? Hope you try.
If I don't forgive you, then I don't forgive myself. I put a wall between me and the One who loves me best. What a foolish thing to do!

Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life

Holy Father...and today I call you Father...you love us in spite of our fear to give all we have to you. You wait at the door of your great home, watching down the road, the long dusty road we took so long ago because we thought we could do it ourselves, we thought faith was a sign of weakness and belief a marker of ignorance. We thought to be fully human we needed to cast aside any need for God, that the world could work just fine without You.
And then, as the world hit us again and again with senseless injury, we still believed we could do it alone. Belief was just a sign of weakness. All we needed was a bit more exercise, a few more books and we could figure it out and make it all right without You.
And then we were hit with the unimaginable. We found a problem we could not solve, or maybe we were just tired of trying. Some of us, sadly, give way to the darkness and end the gift of life rather than surrender to You.

Even those Lord, you continue to wait for at your door.

But when we grow tired of fighting the world alone, and winning, yet still feeling empty, we look at the ground, or a raindrop or a flower or maybe our own pain which will not leave us...and we start to connect again with the Divine.
The wind blows gently across our ear and we know it is the kiss of the Divine, your urging us to come home, that love waits there for us and longs for us.
What was that? The breeze? But we know it was not the breeze. It is you. A kiss. A reminder of what we had long ago. Of what we can have again. Just turn around and walk back home.
And the Father, who sees that we have turned, weeps with joy. And when the moment is just right, He picks up his robe and begins to run toward us...and when we finally lift our eyes from the ground, for all we could do in the beginning was just watch our feet taking one step after another, we look up and are amazed...He wants us back...He wants me back...really wants me back.
And the fire inside burns again as we come closer and closer to each other. So hot you think you will just burn up but you don't. Each step brings more healing, more joy. And suddenly, you know you have found your bliss.

Father, help them to know what you have shown me. Help them find their way. Make them brave. Give them water along the way. And set their hearts on fire for you...

I guess I could say that's how I pray without the books. Kind of out there, but hey, why not?

Love, Cindy