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Reflections of a Lay Catholic

Reflections of a Lay Catholic

Tag Archives: Holy Eucharist

Leftovers

22 Saturday Apr 2023

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Faith, Feeding the 5000, Holy Eucharist, Jesus, John 6:1-15, Leftovers, Living Water, Meditation, Multiplication of the Loaves, Prayer

There are plusses and minuses to being married empty nesters.  One positive is saving money on groceries, but an associated negative is the difficulty in preparing meals for only two people.  Most recipes are designed for at least four which, when followed, means there are usually leftovers.  That can be a problem if you’re one of those people who doesn’t care for leftovers, but for those of us who are fine with them and would rather not waste good food, it can be a really good thing!  When you accumulate enough leftovers you get a bye on deciding what to cook from scratch every now and then.

Also, leftovers, like a spicy pot of chili, just get better after they’ve “seasoned” for an extra day or two.  Even a pineapple upside-down cake like the one my wife made for my birthday this week just gets better each successive day as the pineapple juice and brown sugar syrup soak into the cake below.

I was thinking about leftovers yesterday morning as I read the day’s scripture during my morning meditation.  The Gospel, John 6:1-15, told the story about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes for feeding the five thousand.  After instructing the crowd to recline in the grass, “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish that they wanted.   When they had had their fill He said to His disciples, ‘Gather the fragments leftover so that nothing will be wasted.’  So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.”  Jesus’ miracle transformed five loaves and two fish into enough food to nourish and curb the appetites of five thousand people with enough leftovers to repeat again and again. 

Taking the bread and giving thanks is a prefiguring of the miracle performed at every mass when, at the epiclesis, the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit and consecrates the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.  In receiving the Blessed Sacrament, we are at a feast and being fed with all the graces we need to live Holy lives.

But, we are also nourished and sated by the Word of God in Scripture.  When we pray and meditate daily on the life of Jesus in the Gospels, we are lovingly fed with as much as we can eat in one sitting.  We are given exactly what we need for that day to be virtuous souls.  Our job is to listen to and savor His Word, swallow it by relating it to our lives in the present moment, and then digest it by resolving to apply what we hear to living in a more virtuous way.  Then, we simply have to return to the table and repeat each and every day to partake in the perpetual and eternal leftovers.  No worries about not getting enough, about eating too much, or the food spoiling. There will always be another full and satisfying meal the next day.  And, just as day-old chili gets more flavorful, and pineapple upside-down cake gets more moist, each “meal” just gets better!

Jesus will always give us enough to nourish our souls if we invite Him, through prayer, into our hearts to feed us.  What nourishment do you need today?  Sit at the table, partake of the meal, savor each bite, and rejoice that there are enough leftovers for all the days to come.

“Heavenly Father, thank You for slaking my hunger by feeding me with Your Word, and for quenching my thirst with the Living Water, Your Son, Jesus.  I know through faith that You will never let me go hungry as long as I keep returning to the table through prayer and the Sacraments.  Amen.”

(Leftovers was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2023 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

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The Joy of Gift Giving

08 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Mass

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Christmas Joy, Gift of the Heart, Holy Eucharist, Joy, Joy of Giving, Mass, Presentation of the Gifts

“The Last Supper”, Jaume Huguet, c. 1470

It’s been a while since my last post, before Thanksgiving, in fact.  I hope you had a very merry and blessed Christmas and a peaceful and pleasant New Year.

Christmas 2020 was supposed to be the year that my wife and I would get together with all four daughters and their families, but, with COVID, that didn’t happen.  We had some disappointment but we understood the circumstances and declared, “No Foul”, and no hard feelings.  We were very thankful that everyone was healthy even though we couldn’t all be together. 

We did, however, travel to Lake Charles, Louisiana to spend Christmas with our daughter and her family who live there, and another daughter traveled to meet us from her home in Memphis.  We spent the week together enjoying mild weather, good food, and good conversation.  And, although we love our daughters dearly, the highlight of the visit was spending Christmas with our two grandsons, ages 4, and 23 months.   

It is always a special time on Christmas morning when the little ones open their gifts.  Paper, ribbons, and bows fly everywhere, and as soon as one gift is opened they are on to the next one.  I love to see the excitement and the smiles of magical wonder on the children’s faces. 

But, this Christmas, I found myself observing the morning mayhem a little differently.  As much as I noticed the grandchildren’s amazement at receiving their gifts, I witnessed the joy on my daughters’ and son-in-law’s faces as they watched the little ones open their gifts, gifts that they gave out of love.  It brought back beautiful memories of the joy I experienced of giving gifts to my own daughters when they were children.  That was always the best part of Christmas for me and I loved seeing my daughters experience that same joy.  The old adage, “It’s better to give than it is to receive”, came to mind, and I had to nod in agreement.

This two week old memory came to mind yesterday right after receiving Communion at Mass.  As I walked back to my pew I thought about all those who have denied themselves the Blessed Sacrament because of their social distancing fears, or who have, through laissez-faire attitudes, grown comfortable with the habit of not attending Mass.  Back at my pew, kneeling and offering a prayer of thanksgiving for having received Christ in the Holy Eucharist, I prayed for those folks by again making my own offering to Him as I do every morning and at every Mass during the presentation of the gifts:  “Heavenly Father, I offer You my prayer, work, joy and suffering, and I unite it to Your sacrifice made present in the Mass and I offer it for the conversion of souls.  Amen.”  

I wondered if they truly know and miss this gift of love that Christ so desires to give us if we just come to Him?  I mean, isn’t the reason we go to Mass to receive Him?

And then that’s when Christmas came to mind.  I had it wrong.  I had it backwards.  We go to Mass to give ourselves as a gift to God, to unite our hearts to the heart of Jesus through His sacrifice, to love Him for loving us and sacrificing His life for us.  We give ourselves freely to please God, to bring Him joy, to put a smile on His face.  And, in return, he gives Himself, and the infinite love of a happy Father which accompanies it, to us.

It’s the joy of giving that we miss when we don’t go to Mass.  It’s the missed opportunity to know that we have pleased God, and to show our gratitude for the experience.  And, since we know the happiness it brings when we give a loving gift to another, we fail to relate to the happiness we are denying God when He can’t give Himself to us. 

Thinking about that adage, “It’s better to give than it is to receive”, I decided there needs to be a corollary to it:  “The joy of giving makes the joy of receiving so much better!”  

I know there are certain folks for whom it may still be too risky to go to church to worship.  But, friends, if at all possible, find a way to return to Mass.  Rediscover the feeling of giving yourself to the Father so that He can give Himself to you with unimaginable love.  Find your happiness by making Him happy.

“Lord Jesus, I love You.  And, like giving gifts to my children and grandchildren whom I love dearly, I know it pleases You and brings You joy when I give myself as a gift to You.  Thank You for Your immense love and returning it to me in the Holy Eucharist.  Amen.”

(The Joy of Gift Giving was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2021 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad!

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections, Daily 100

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Breaking bread, Holy Eucharist, Luke 24:13-35, Ps 118:24, Rejoice, Road to Emmaus

Today is a 2-fer day: two reflections from my prayer and meditation on today’s Scripture.

(A 100-word reflection on Luke 24:13-35 – Jesus’ appearance on the road to Emmaus)

Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio, 1606

The two disciples with whom Jesus spent the day walking to Emmaus did not at first recognize Him. But, at day’s end, Jesus sat with them “at table, took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, but He vanished from their sight.” (Lk24:30-31)

They thought Jesus had left them. But, He was still there….present in the bread that he’d just consecrated.

I can’t see Him, either. But, He’s still there in the Holy Eucharist which I will soon be able to receive again.


(A 100-word reflection on Ps 118:24)

Before my meditation this morning I looked out my window as the sun was rising in a cloudless bright blue sky over my frosted lawn. A red-breasted robin, perched on a branch of a blooming pink dogwood tree, was checking me out just inches from one window. A few feet outside another window were five goldfinches clinging to my bird feeder having their breakfast.

Then, I read the same verse from Psalms that’s been in the Liturgy every day this week: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!”

I can do that!

“Good and gracious Lord, thank You for the beauty that You bring to each and every day. Help me to always see the beauty of Your handiwork, even in the cloudy and dreary days. And, Lord, may I never fail to rejoice and be glad when I receive Your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist. Amen.”

(Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad! was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2020 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Re-Gifting

30 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Charity, Christian Community, Communion, Eucharist, Friendship, Love, Prayer

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Charity, Community, Friendship, Holy Eucharist, Joy, Love, Morning Offering, Prayer, Prayer intentions, Suffering

imagesThis morning as I knelt before Your altar I gave You thanks for all my prayers, my work, my joy and my sufferings. Then, I offered them up to You as a gift for You to use and apply towards the intentions of all my family and friends, and especially for the intentions of the Holy Father.

You took my gift, transfigured it, and re-gifted it to me in the form of pure love – Your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. More love than I myself can fathom. In return, all You ask is that I recognize Your presence in everyone I meet and re-gift all that I can’t use to others who need it. And, that’s just about everybody.

Tomorrow we’ll repeat the process. Same gift. Different day.

Amen.

(Re-Gifting was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2018 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

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