Into the Greatest Silence

In light of my cyber-discussion with Fr. Christian on the Eucharist (see here), I wanted to mention something that seems missing in the Ordinary Form of the Roman liturgy, something that even Papa Ratzinger has commented on before. And this is recollected, prayerful silence. The Mass is so busy & noisy, that it clashes heavily with the requirement of Eucharistic worship, so much so that it seems to have been jetisoned entirely. We've even been instructed not to pray immediately after receiving the Lord, but to join in song & focus on others. After all, WE are the Body of Christ, right?

Not so fast there, Skippy. We only become the Body by/only after receiving the Body. If we place our focus at the point of Communion on each other, rather than the Lord, are we not guilty of failing to discern the Body of Christ, as St. Paul reminds us? We are not the Body because we feel we are or we want to be, but because the Lord makes us so through this sacramental event. Otherwise, we are just as much "in communion" with each other as the local 4H club or Masons lodge. I'd go so far as to say that if worship of Jesus within us is discouraged at the time of Communion, then something has come off the rails.

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Why does the Eucharist not seem to exhibit the power in people's lives every Sunday that all the spiritual writers of the Church claim it to have? How can people (including me) receive Christ Jesus again & again & again but never really change? Could it be because we block ourselves off from his infinite power & grace right at the point of reception? Rather than ponder Cracker Barrel vs. Gondolier while the Ite is being said, maybe staying a few moments on your knees in a silent church pouring out your soul to the God present in you in silent prayer is a better plan. My opinion only?

In a special EWTN program on the Eucharist, Sr. Joan Noreen just reminded us that John Paul II encouraged silent devotion & contemplation for the 10 to 15 minutes immediately after receiving the Lord in the Eucharist, because this is the holiest possible time we have with God & to let nothing distract us. During that time, Sister recommended some points for our Eucharistic contemplation (yes, I am a sucker for points):

• Rest with Christ Jesus in silent adoration.
• Adore Christ Jesus in our souls, offering everything we have & everything we are.
• Thank him.
• Ask for forgiveness of our sin & ask for the grace to overcome sin.
• Petition him for our spiritual needs & those of the world

She also said that we should learn & internalize beautiful & faithful hymns & prayers, especially those of St. Thomas Aquinas (Amen, Sister!). She reminded us of the final words of John Paul II's last encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia:

Let us make our own the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an eminent theologian and an impassioned poet of Christ in the Eucharist, and turn in hope to the contemplation of that goal to which our hearts aspire in their thirst for joy and peace:

Bone pastor, panis vere,Iesu, nostri miserere...

Come then, good Shepherd, bread divine,Still show to us thy mercy sign;Oh, feed us, still keep us thine;So we may see thy glories shinein fields of immortality.

O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,Our present food, our future rest,Come, make us each thy chosen guest,Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blestWith saints whose dwelling is with thee.

I suppose my whole point is that we may need to reconsider not only how we prepare for & receive Communion, but just as important, how we treat the Divine Guest in the chapel of our souls after we receive him in. Ignoring him through distractions, but expecting him to work a miracle in us probably isn't the best approach or the mind of the Church on this matter.

May God continue to bless faithful & holy religious sisters.