| "Sacramental
Communion renews the baptized believer's incorporation into Christ.
There comes about a mutual abiding, we in Christ and Christ in us...By
union with Christ, the People of the New Covenant are sent out as
a 'sacrament for humanity', a light to the world and the salt of the
earth. We are sent as the Father sent Christ because the Eucharist
aims to bring all people into communion with the Father." -
Letter on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II
Reflection on Family in the Year of the Eucharist
by Family Life Apostolate Staff, Archdiocese of New Orleans
Eucharist is the central sign and reality of God's love for us.
As we receive Eucharist and are strengthened to live Eucharist,
we see Christ more clearly in those who sacrifice to give unselfishly
of their love and those who accept that love. In family we receive
Eucharist so that we can become Eucharist for each other. Sometimes
we encounter Christ in the most unexpected people and places. These
are a few of our reflections:
When I come home late from work, my wife is waiting for me. I hear
her greeting as I unlock the front door "Welcome home!"
and I feel welcomed and embraced in her love.
I listened to a wife describe her husband as he worked with a stranger
who was buying his car. In her love and admiration for her spouse,
I saw Christ.
In the store yesterday I experienced Christ in the people who let
me into line, who treated me with courtesy and a smile. It was a
gift of peace in a hurried day.
In my neighborhood, I saw Jesus in a large man walking his two
sons home from school. When I first noticed them, the man was screaming
at his youngest son about his misbehavior at school. I was afraid.
Suddenly, the man stopped, seemed to catch himself, reached out
and touched his son gently on the head. Then he picked the boy up
and hugged him. The other son didn't want to be left out, so he
grasped his daddy's hand. With tears in my eyes, I saw the three
walk down the street together.
My spouse was distributing communion to the elderly members of
our congregation last Sunday. What touched him deeply was the eagerness
and gratitude with which these elderly were coming forward to receive
Eucharist.
When my mom was dying, she had to learn how to allow others to
do things for her. All her life she had been a giver, who had great
difficulty in receiving. In those last months of her life, I saw
her learn how to accept what others did for her as a sign of their
love for her. I began to realize that it is as important to be able
to receive as it is to give.
As I look at the members of my family who love Jesus and aren't
Catholic, I realize over and over how much the Eucharist affirms
my commitment and desire to be Catholic.
In family we receive Eucharist so that we can become Eucharist
for each other.
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