That's your opinion

We live in a time when a person's opinion tends to matter more than who they are and who they are called to be. Many of our reflections on other people are caught by sound grabs which seek to put the person in a positive or negative light. We can become accustomed to receiving this fast food or what a person thinks or says in this brief 10 seconds. We seek to sum up who they are and whether we can trust them with our lives. Therefore, it is good, to sum up, the ten second grabs which are presented to us on a regular basis, "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will be given up for you." and "Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of  the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me."

These words which we hear at each Mass during the consecration calls us to reflect on what it means to receive the Body and Blood of Christ into our own lives. This is more than just a person's opinion of what will be good for us. It is the offering of his life for our life. To experience him at the most profound, simple and intimate moment where he wishes to share his whole self with us. This allows us to encounter his mercy by the way he offers us in profound vulnerability so that we may know in ourselves how deep is his love for us.

At each Eucharist, we are called to meet Jesus who is present in each celebration. We are called to encounter him with our lives as he offers his life to us. This is an experience where he takes what seems ordinary and every day in bread and wine and blesses it. He allows his body to be broken and shared with us so that we may take his life into our own. In this way, we take his life out to a broken world in our own bodies. 

This is Good News and helps us through this encounter to become people who are able to be present to others as Jesus is present to us. In the ordinary events of our lives, we offer ourselves to others that they may encounter a blessing. This is by allowing our lives to be broken open and shared. Each day we can discover the person of Christ in our Eucharist. May this encounter be at the heart of our Christian lives.