However, I can think of no more beautiful feast for his words to terminate on, and this is a perfect reminder for us of the importance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood. This is the food which nourishes us to eternal life. As I noted in yesterday's blog post, the Sequence for today speaks of how this Food is either a source of life or death to us. The Eucharistic Feast will often be for us a source of meditation throughout Ordinary Time, which we will be in until Advent. This day is for us, then, the beginning of our meditations.
As Gueranger's last meditation was upon the Eucharist, so must our meditations always be. The Liturgy is a foretaste and a reminder of what we look forward to experiencing in eternity. Within the Church's Liturgy we experience an outpouring of love. The love may be summed up in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the means whereby our souls are wedded to Christ, and we therefore already experience the heavenly Liturgy while upon this earth.
Now, it is often noted that we should not allow the summer months to be a time when we fall away from the Faith. We must keep the Eucharist at the center of our lives. However, I will be so bold as to propose that the summer is the perfect time for this. It is a time in which we should take note of our spiritual lives and grow closer to Christ. It is a time for a spiritual renovation.
The summer is the time in which we take vacations from our worldly occupations, and this is good and praiseworthy. However, we should remember that it is a vacation from our worldly lives, not from our supernatural lives. Instead, let's go on a vacation to grow closer to Jesus. While we certainly need rest and enjoyment in our activities, let's not do so at the expense of our Faith.
For this end, in light of the current solemnity, I propose some of the following options to attempt during the summer:
1. Add a Holy Hour to your summer week. This time spent with our Eucharistic Lord is sure to be relaxing. It's psychologically proven. Prayer time is a stress reliever, and time spent in a quiet chapel with God, truly present, sounds pretty worthwhile to me.
2. Consider adding morning Mass to your schedule. I know that you probably think I sound insane for this. How can getting up earlier be relaxing? Well, it's not so much that it's physically fun, especially for us night owls, but I promise you'll feel a lot better when the Eucharist is the first thing you consume for the day. Plus, it helps reorient you to what's truly important. Instead of shoeing the kids off to school, you're shoeing gathering them for Mass. It's worth it in the long run.
3. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours is the Prayer of the Church. It is a refreshment throughout the day. It only takes a few minutes, but those few minutes are a chance to pause and remind ourselves why we're on this earth. Plus, they are a way of reconnecting to the Mass throughout the day. Numerous resources are available for learning to pray it, plus, it's available as an app on iTunes.
4. Stop by local churches when on vacation. This option has a lot of nice features. You get to pay a visit to Jesus. Every time you visit a new church, you can gain a plenary indulgence for the day if you pray an Our Father and the Nicene Creed in the church. Hopefully, you get to see nice architecture and a beautiful church where you can learn about the Faith, since most churches have little hidden gems in them of a special devotion or aspect of the Faith. Unfortunately, because a lot of churches aren't built with beauty and grandeur in mind anymore, you can hope that at least you can get some air conditioning for a little while. At least it'll be time with Jesus.
5. Go on retreat. Instead of a vacation, which is focused on re-energizing the body, this is focused on revitalizing the soul. I'm not saying to forget the vacation, but don't forget the retreat as well. We need to take care of body and soul. If your obligations prevent you from getting away for more than a day, at least get a babysitter and take an afternoon where it's just you and Jesus. There doesn't have to be any special structure to it, just let it be quality time with the Lord.
Remember especially, that every time you receive the Eucharist your soul is truly united to Christ. He is the Bridegroom and we are part of His Bride, the Church. The relationship needs to be nurtured. Therefore, may this day on which we celebrate the gift of the Lord's Body and Blood, and the summer and entire Church year, be the days upon which we grow in our relationship with the Risen Lord, so that when we enter into our eternal union with Him, we may enter it as guests invited (Matthew 22: 1-14).
As Gueranger's last meditation was upon the Eucharist, so must our meditations always be. The Liturgy is a foretaste and a reminder of what we look forward to experiencing in eternity. Within the Church's Liturgy we experience an outpouring of love. The love may be summed up in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the means whereby our souls are wedded to Christ, and we therefore already experience the heavenly Liturgy while upon this earth.
Now, it is often noted that we should not allow the summer months to be a time when we fall away from the Faith. We must keep the Eucharist at the center of our lives. However, I will be so bold as to propose that the summer is the perfect time for this. It is a time in which we should take note of our spiritual lives and grow closer to Christ. It is a time for a spiritual renovation.
The summer is the time in which we take vacations from our worldly occupations, and this is good and praiseworthy. However, we should remember that it is a vacation from our worldly lives, not from our supernatural lives. Instead, let's go on a vacation to grow closer to Jesus. While we certainly need rest and enjoyment in our activities, let's not do so at the expense of our Faith.
For this end, in light of the current solemnity, I propose some of the following options to attempt during the summer:
1. Add a Holy Hour to your summer week. This time spent with our Eucharistic Lord is sure to be relaxing. It's psychologically proven. Prayer time is a stress reliever, and time spent in a quiet chapel with God, truly present, sounds pretty worthwhile to me.
2. Consider adding morning Mass to your schedule. I know that you probably think I sound insane for this. How can getting up earlier be relaxing? Well, it's not so much that it's physically fun, especially for us night owls, but I promise you'll feel a lot better when the Eucharist is the first thing you consume for the day. Plus, it helps reorient you to what's truly important. Instead of shoeing the kids off to school, you're shoeing gathering them for Mass. It's worth it in the long run.
3. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours is the Prayer of the Church. It is a refreshment throughout the day. It only takes a few minutes, but those few minutes are a chance to pause and remind ourselves why we're on this earth. Plus, they are a way of reconnecting to the Mass throughout the day. Numerous resources are available for learning to pray it, plus, it's available as an app on iTunes.
4. Stop by local churches when on vacation. This option has a lot of nice features. You get to pay a visit to Jesus. Every time you visit a new church, you can gain a plenary indulgence for the day if you pray an Our Father and the Nicene Creed in the church. Hopefully, you get to see nice architecture and a beautiful church where you can learn about the Faith, since most churches have little hidden gems in them of a special devotion or aspect of the Faith. Unfortunately, because a lot of churches aren't built with beauty and grandeur in mind anymore, you can hope that at least you can get some air conditioning for a little while. At least it'll be time with Jesus.
5. Go on retreat. Instead of a vacation, which is focused on re-energizing the body, this is focused on revitalizing the soul. I'm not saying to forget the vacation, but don't forget the retreat as well. We need to take care of body and soul. If your obligations prevent you from getting away for more than a day, at least get a babysitter and take an afternoon where it's just you and Jesus. There doesn't have to be any special structure to it, just let it be quality time with the Lord.
Remember especially, that every time you receive the Eucharist your soul is truly united to Christ. He is the Bridegroom and we are part of His Bride, the Church. The relationship needs to be nurtured. Therefore, may this day on which we celebrate the gift of the Lord's Body and Blood, and the summer and entire Church year, be the days upon which we grow in our relationship with the Risen Lord, so that when we enter into our eternal union with Him, we may enter it as guests invited (Matthew 22: 1-14).
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