The Eucharist Is Thanksgiving

Every year as the autumn leaves fall and the hours of sunlight shorten, I reflect more often upon the activities of the past year. I think most of us would admit to doing the same thing as we move closer to the end of the year and to the start of a brand new calendar filled with an unknown number of new challenges.

We are now two weeks beyond the celebration of Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday, where I take a particularly extensive “self-inventory” in introspection to be thankful to the Lord for all that He has blessed and provided to me. This year during that personal self-assessment and time spent in prayer I was brought back continually to a specific concept: the Eucharist is Thanksgiving.

In fact, many of you who went to Catholic school know, that the word Eucharist quite literally translates to “thanksgiving”. I began to realize even more fully than I have before how thankful and how grateful I am to Jesus for the gift of the Eucharist and the awesome power that the sacrament provides to myself and so many other Catholics throughout the world.

I reflected upon the recent trip by Pope Francis to Africa and the many celebrations of Holy Mass that he lead while he was on that volatile continent. I recalled the news stories I read about the people in the poor neighborhoods that he visited while on that pilgrimage of peace. The people took so much hope and solace from the words he shared with them and in the celebration of the Eucharist, especially in Kenya, where some people proclaimed that because of the Pope they believe that “God truly loves us”.

That reflection brought me to a direct corollary to the gratitude I hold in my heart for being able to attend the recent visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia. I was there for two days of events surrounding that part of the Pontiff’s historic visit to America in September, and I will never forget being there and being so close to the Vicar of Christ. It was an energy and power that I will be truly changed forever through that experience and through the hope I gained from that pilgrimage.

Mission Accomplished

In more recent days we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. In my own personal prayer routine, I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet and meditate on the Stations of the Cross daily at 3 PM. I am thankful to the Lord to have that time to spend with Him, and I was explaining to a group of my friends at my Men’s Discipleship Group at my parish last week, that even when I have picked up a new contract job for writing or some other new obligation; it has always worked out that I could spend some time with the Lord at that hour of the day.

I remember one job in particular where they told me that I would get a fifteen minute break every day at three o’clock, I was so happy, and considered that not an coincidence but a gift from the Lord.

Anyway, I was reflecting upon the gift of Mary and her selfless act of devotion to God to bring Our Savior into the world for the salvation of our sins, when I embarked on the Stations of the Cross during my holy hour. I used the Creighton University version that provides reflections on each Station through the eyes of Mary, it is a poignant and powerful way to follow in the steps of the Lord along His Way of the Pain. It was particularly powerful on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

At the end of that version of the Stations of the Cross, which Creighton University did an amazing job producing, Mary explains that the mission of Her Son was accomplished when they would gather together in the early days of the Church after Pentecost; that Jesus promised He would always be with us and He is through the Eucharist. His Body is broken and blessed for us all each day and we can receive Him and be that close with Our Lord. It is still such an amazingly profound mystery that I will never fully comprehend.

Holiday Rush

Many of the homilies in the Liturgical Calendar this past Sunday focused on the start of Advent and juxtaposed the societal urging to rush around and buy gifts compared to the message from God to slow down and prepare for the coming of the Savior on Christmas Day.

In my personal faith journey, I have had many years in the past where I felt completely unprepared for Advent and the holidays. In my younger days I used to exchange gifts with more people and used to put myself under pressure to get all of it done. The faith aspect of Advent was still there, but it was relegated almost to a different position, which was not right of me to do at the time.

A combination of the changes in the economy, in the way I viewed the societal obsession with gift giving, and the shift in the importance of my relationship with the Lord began my reallocation of my time at Advent. I am also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the organization has a deep commitment to the “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign. In an increasingly secular and consumer driven society it is a message of increasing importance.

I am thankful to God for many things: for His grace, the gift of my faith, the love He has for me, as well as for the love of my family and good friendships. I am thankful for the blessings of food, clothing, and shelter. I am thankful for the gift of life each day and take solace in the fact that Jesus is there with me every step of the way through my joys, my sorrows, my successes, and my failures.

Most of all I give thanks this holiday season for the ultimate gift, the Eucharist, and that we as the Body of Christ can have such an intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior. Jesus is, and always will be, truly with us through the gift of the Eucharist. Mother Mary was right in His Passion, Jesus was victorious, His mission is accomplished until He returns again.

I wish all of you and your families the grace and peace that can only come from the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, May His Light be with you all and remain with you forever. I wish that you all will celebrate with Him in the Eucharist which is truly Thanksgiving during this Advent season. Merry Christmas!