“The heaven of our souls”
We have been praying for our return to God’s Cathedral Church in Wellington, our parish church, dedicated to his Son, Jesus, and to Mother Mary. Yes, as I have mentioned, there will so much to see that will gladden our eyes and enable us to give fitting praise and glory to God.
The Visitation Altar will be the space around which we will celebrate the Eucharist and remember the words which we hear in today’s Gospel, “Take, this is my body.” “This is my blood of the covenant poured out for many.”
In the Mass, the Risen Lord is truly present in our midst. Present in the faithful gathered, in the Shepherd who presides, in the Word Proclaimed, and in the Sacrament celebrated.
St Therese of Lisieux wrote; “It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down each day from heaven, but to find another heaven, the heaven of our souls in which He takes delight.” In the Eucharist Jesus shares his very life with us, and where the Risen Lord is, there is heaven. Yes, as St Therese, “the heaven of our souls”.
From the celebrations of Easter to Pentecost, and then to Trinity Sunday, and now the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ we have been immersed in the reality of God’s desire for us to recognise divine presence in the here and now. And through the sharing of his very life, Jesus feeds us so that we can also be sharers of divine life with others.
Our children are presently preparing to receive Holy Communion for the first time. What is our hope for them? I hope that they will be strong in their faith. That in listening to Jesus in the scriptures, and in receiving him in the Eucharist they will grow to know him more and more, deeper, and deeper. That they will experience his beaming with delight towards them. That they will hear his encouragement of them and know of his unconditional love.
Then, the Eucharist will not only be for them spiritual sustenance, but also ‘viaticum’, food for the journey, energising their response to his love in their service of others!
With prayers, patrick
