Meditations on the Sunday Gospel for the Year of the Eucharist
was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son
of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that
Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came
and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of
the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be
taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the
mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay
awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour
of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed
awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also
must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of
Man will come. - Matthew 24:37-44
Jesus, at times it seems like
this world has forgotten you and
sometimes I feel like I*m just
floating along with that world.
Sometimes I question what I*m
doing here in this Hour. In the
eyes of the world, it is
unproductive. In the eyes of the
world it is comical, to kneel before
what human eyes see as bread.
But Lord, I know that you have
come, I know that you have
gathered to yourself a people, a
Church, which marches on
through history. A Church that
has remained steadfast in truth
and teaching, a Church that has
produced and continues to
produce countless saints and
martyrs. Lord, your Church
marches on, and continues to
gather around your Presence,
here in the Eucharist. Keep me
faithful, keep me steadfast, keep
me always ready for the Day when
the veil will be dropped and you
will appear in all of your glory.
relates that most of the world was preoccupied with its own affairs and
oblivious to God*s words and actions, so that when the Flood came it was
as a total surprise. Only those who had remained steadfast, faithful and
*awake* (Noah and his family) were saved.
In like manner, Jesus warns his disciples that the Day of the Lord will
come upon us without warning. People will be doing their ordinary tasks
(grinding at mill, working in the field) but only those who have been faithful
and steadfast will be saved. Those who live in the kingdom of light and
those who live in the kingdom of darkness often work side by side in the
fields of this life. The Day will come upon us all, and only those who have
remained faithful and *awake* will be saved. *For at an hour you do not
expect, the Son of Man will come.*
Apostles and You
final days to you. Many times growing up as a Jewish child you heard the story of
Noah and the Flood. You knew there would never be such another flood, as God
had promised this would not happen again. But Jesus describes a new and more
serious situation. One in which eternal life depends upon whether or not you are
*awake* when he comes.
As you listen to him, what goes through your heart and mind. Might you ask
him, *what does it mean to be *awake* when You come?*
that your Second Coming will happen when we least expect it, when we are doing the ordinary
things of this life. It is in the ordinary events of this life that how we will spend eternity is
determined. Help me to know how I can draw closer to you in the ordinary events of my life.
How can I make your kingdom more present at home, at work, in my commute*(spend ten
minutes listening for the Lord).
Lord, the Church has always recognized each Mass as a foretaste of the Second Coming.
In the Mass you make yourself fully present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, just as you will on
the Last Day. The only difference of course is that today you are veiled under the
appearances of bread and wine, while on that day all veils will be dropped. Reveal to me how I
am treating you now in the Eucharist, it should be no different than how I plan to treat you on
the Last Day. Reveal to me the ways I can give you more honor*(spend ten minutes listening).
King of Kings, am I prepared? Am I living such a holy life, that I would have no regrets if
you came during this Hour of Prayer? Reveal to me my sins and help me to choose now in this
time to give them up for You. Place the desire in my heart and grant me your grace to do
so*(spend ten minutes listening)
EUCHARIST
find peace on the outside but you can find peace on the inside,
by letting God do to your soul what Mary let Him do to her body,
namely, let Christ be formed in you....she was a living Ciborium,
a monstrance of the Divine Eucharist, a Gate of Heaven through
which a Creator would peer upon creation, a Tower of Ivory up
whose chaste body He was to climb "to kiss upon her lips a
mystical rose." - Fulton J. Sheen
V: The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary
R: And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.
V: Hail Mary, full of grace.
V: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.
R: Be it done unto me according to thy word.
V: Hail Mary ...
V: And the Word was made flesh
R: And dwelt among us.
V: Hail Mary ...
V: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
V: Let us pray.
All: Pour forth, we beseech the, O Lord, thy grace unto our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of
Christ, thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross be
brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Year of the Eucharist Page