Some of the questions I am compelled to ask myself this Christmas:
How am I truly entering into the mystery that is Christ's birth,
Christ's Incarnation finally becoming visible to the world?
How am I rejoicing?
Why must I rejoice?
How can Christmas affect me day to day:
today, tomorrow, or a month from now?
These, and many more questions should arise from a heart seeking to know more and more their Savior and the splendor of His birth in a humble manger in the little town of Bethlehem. But how do we answer them? How do I focus on the birth of a little child so many centuries ago in a culture I am so ignorant of?
I cannot answer these questions for you. They must be answered by your own meditation on the season. But I challenge you to. I challenge you to not allow another Christmas to go by without some thought on allowing this time to strengthen your relationship with the Christ child. Believe me, I have let too many pass by as if they were nothing different from the following day, or even the following holiday. I have allowed Christmas to become a holiday instead of what it really is. Don't let this happen to you. Go find Him in the manager of your heart, in the desolation and poverty that can only become filled and blessed by He who is the true gift of this season.
"There is no difficulty about Christ's presence in the Eucharist as in a sign, but that He is truly present in the Eucharist as He is in heaven, this is most difficult. Therefore to believe this is especially meritorious." - St. Bonaventure
"The Lord did not say: This is a symbol of My Body, and this a symbol of My Blood but: 'This is My Body and My Blood.' He teaches us not to look to the nature of those things which lie before us and are perceived by the senses, for by the prayer of thanksgiving and the words spoken over them, they have been changed into Flesh and Blood." - Theodore of Mopsueta
For this reason the Fathers took special care to warn the faithful that in reflecting on this most august Sacrament, they should not trust to their senses, which react only the properties of bread and wine, but rather to the words of Christ which have power to transform, change and transmute the bread and wine into His Body and Blood. For, as those same Fathers often said, the power that accomplishes this is that same power by which God Almighty, at the beginning of time, created the world out of nothing.
Anyone who approaches this august Sacrament with special devotion and endeavors to return generous love for Christ's own infinite love, will experience and fully understand -- not without spiritual joy and fruit -- how precious is the life hidden with Christ in God[69] and how great is the value of converse with Christ, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness.
All of those thoughts and quotes come from the Encyclical Letter Mysterium Fidei (Mystery of Faith), written by Pope Paul VI on the doctrine and worship of the Holy Eucharist. Since today is the Feast of Corpus Cristi, or the Body and Blood of Christ, I thought it was appropriate to quote some of it.
In the Church, nothing is more important, but also more debated, than the reality of the Body and Blood of Christ. So many people see the bread and wine as symbolic of the Body and Blood -- but it is just not true! It IS the Body and Blood. It truly is! Our simple, human minds are incapable of comprehending this. The common expression "seeing is believing" comes to mind. We cannot see that it has changed; in fact, its physical appearance remains bread and wine. But its substance has changed.
Transubstantiation (n.) - a change in the form or substance of something.
It might be my favorite word in the English language; not because it has some wordy definition, but for the simple truth it states. Yet, how complex we make it when it is used to describe the Eucharist. How little faith we have in the words of Christ! He says, clear as day, in John 6:22-59 everything there is to understand about the Eucharist. And our option is to accept it or deny it. He doesn't say, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my symbolic flesh for the life of the world." No, he clearly states: "the bread that I will give ismy flesh for the life of the world." (6:51) His flesh is the bread.
"For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink." (6:55) True, not a symbol. Also, the word used for eats throughout this passage is the classic Greek word for an animal eating meaning either "munch," or "gnaw." John means for the idea to be graphic and real. He doesn't want people to think it is symbolic. If he meant symbol, DANG IT! he would have said "symbol." So let's stop fighting over Christ's words.
But how can we fault people for arguing over this petty issue (sarcasm...)? Even Christ's own disciples did not all accept this teaching. "As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him." (6:66) And although it is tough to see people leave the Church, I would rather people choose based on such a crucial issue as this than on something silly like order of the Mass or in Martin Luther's case, human failings within the Church. At least it proves they are trying to understand it. I also think, though, that by choosing to have faith in it you prove your belief in Christ better than any other manner. Nothing says, "I have faith in Christ Jesus" better than the humility to accept the things we cannot see. "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." (John 20:29b)
Most likely I am preaching to the choir. But maybe you know someone who isn't sure about the Eucharist. Bring 'em to Church. Explain to them the fact that we believe it truly is His Body and Blood. Don't lay it on them right away that we munch or gnaw on Jesus (it might lead them to be as the disciples who couldn't accept it), but just emphasize that it is a MYSTERY and we must accept it in faith. Make sure they understand that if you believe that Christ is the Savior of the world, the Son of God, then everything he said and taught must be true, including truths we cannot comprehend well due to our human nature. Have them read through The Bread of Life Discourse. Let them know that Christ will open their eyes to see if they are willing to let Him; whether they are Muslim, Christian, or whatever religion, having open eyes should always be a fundamental reality of faith. That's what it is - believing in the unseen. If not, you are not going to progress in life no matter where you are or what you say you believe. And most importantly, pray for them... possibly by offering up the Eucharist for them ;-)
I pray that the Holy Spirit can penetrate your heart and befit you with a great love and devotion for the Blessed Sacrament today and the rest of your life, and you can represent that to all you meet.
I mean, truly it just means to be lacking something, usually in reference to monetary goods.
Yet, there is more than just monetary poverty, which is why I named my blog Beati Pauperes Spiritu (Blessed are the poor in Spirit). In an older post I believe I discussed what that meant. Being poor in Spirit, as the beatitudes ask us to be, means that we
humble ourselves, even if life is grand, to accept that we are NOT in
control. We are able to say, "Lord, thank you for giving me everything I
need. I know it is only out of pure grace; now I must give my excess to
those without and be your hands and feet." That type of poverty is chosen.
I want to touch upon today two other types of poverty that are not chosen: physical poverty and spiritual poverty.
Since spending a year in a third-world country where physical poverty is more than real, I feel compassion towards people for totally different reasons than I once did. In America and most first-world countries, we are used to seeing a lot of spiritual poverty... no, I don't mean a chosen poverty of Spirit (note the capital S); we are not blessed for this poverty. Like I said - you are blessed when you choose to be poor out of humility. Americans are spiritually poor because they aren't spiritual at all. That is mostly because when you have everything you think that you need and are comfortable, you no longer feel a need for God. We think we are safe, or even better yet, in control.
Ha. God is laughing, and I am, too.
But when people struggle for the essentials in life, they often turn to God, hoping that since they do not perceive themselves to be in control of their situation that perhaps a higher being will give them what they need. Honestly, we can learn a lot from them.
Now we are getting to my point. But don't think my objective is to say that we should be physically poor so that we need God. He wants us to want Him, but don't you think He is even more proud of those who have everything they need and still trust in Him? No, my point is that I have never been physically poor, and my heart has never been exposed to people who are physically poor, only emotionally and spiritually poor.
Seeing this physical poverty has stolen a lot of my peace. Why? Because my peace came in the fact that I knew how to put my faith into action. I could act out of compassion, helping people who have similar problems, lifestyles, etc. to my own -- i.e. "I could say I have been there, I know what you are going through" to them. I had faith in God because I could help my brothers and sisters and I had some bit of reward from it, even if very minimal. Well, when you are a volunteer with no money, yet have all the essentials (including food, a bed, electricity, even internet), and you see the people you are here to help struggling so deeply in the physical needs department, what can you do? I pity them, but I show no compassion. How I can I be compassionate without acting on it? Compassion implies helping the other; yet, how can I help them?
Here is my dilemma.
Here is where my faith is tested. Here is where peace has evaded me, because I have not discovered how to serve these people with or without a means to provide for their most simple but essential needs.
I am trying my best to figure out how to show compassion. Until then, I can only prepare myself for the day when I am capable of showing compassion. I can set my mind to serving the poor when I return and have a means to provide for the physically poor. Right now, it looks like prayer is my only option -- but one day, I want to really help those around me in all aspects of life: those spiritually poor and those physically poor.
This song I found recently really touched me and I think is very relevant to this post, so I'll share it with you:
May God place compassion in your heart for the poverty of your neighbor, so that you may become poor in your own way, in a chosen way. May God grant you the grace to become poor in Spirit.
