Presence

“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” (Gerard Manley Hopkins)
I dwell for a moment on the presence of God around me,
in every part of my body,
and deep within my being.

Freedom

God is not foreign to my freedom.
Instead, the Spirit breathes life into my most intimate desires,
gently nudging me towards all that is good.
I ask for the grace to let myself be enfolded by the Spirit.

Consciousness

There is a time and place for everything, as the saying goes.
Lord, grant that I may always desire
to spend time in Your presence,
to hear Your call.

The Word of God

⁵²The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, ⁵⁵for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹He said these things while he was teaching in a synagogue at Capernaum.

Inspiration

For the Jews to be told that they must eat this man’s flesh if they are to have life in the hereafter must have been, for many of them, a bridge too far. Jesus tells them that he will raise them up on the last day. But only God could do this, so in their eyes, he is a blasphemer. Only faith in who Jesus is can enable us to receive his body and blood in the Eucharist.

Our souls need to be nourished with the real food and drink of Christ’s body and blood if they are to have his life in us. Our God always longs to give himself to us.

Conversation

Remembering that I am still in God’s presence,
I imagine Jesus Himself standing or sitting beside me,
and say whatever is on my mind, whatever is in my heart,
speaking as one friend to another.

Conclusion

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Amen