ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick
write about their lives in the Eucharist. |
ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick
write about their lives in the Eucharist. |
By: Ivonne J. Hernandez Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle, “the day that Christ appeared to him in a vision as he was on his way to Damascus, reproached him for his persecutions and converted him to the true faith.”* I find it interesting that the feast day is not called the “Conversion of Saul”, but rather, the “Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle”. Saul didn’t get converted that day; he died, and Paul rose in his place.
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, chapter 1, he recounts, “Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans.” He was chosen by God, called by God, and sent by God. First of all, we know that Paul did not receive instruction from the other apostles. He begins his letter saying, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” So, this knowledge Paul has about having been chosen in his mother’s womb, did not come as a result of intellectual pursuit, nor of faith in some teacher or other, but it was revealed directly from God. Before Paul can receive his mission, before he is even called, God lets him know he is infinitely loved. What comes next is truly amazing, Paul says, God “called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me.” The new man that rose that day, Paul, was no other than Jesus Christ in him. “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13). Just like God formed Jesus in his mother’s womb, he forms Him in us while we are still in our mother’s womb. He chooses each one of us and loves us into being. Then, at the right time, He calls us though His grace, so that we can then say, “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Unlike St. Paul’s dramatic conversion, most of us will spend our lifetime shedding the old self and growing into the image of the Son in us. Even if we feel we are not ready, through the grace of the sacraments, Jesus can already begin His work. We just need to remember through Whom are we chosen, called and sent. “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (Eph 2:10). * From Universalis: About Today (25-Jan-2020)
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By: Rick Hernandez A few months ago, during a team-building exercise at the office, we were asked whether we had a principal goal to accomplish at work. Our group’s answers varied and ranged from the selfless “wanting to do good for our patients” to the ambitious “climb the corporate ladder.” I noticed that the people answering had one thing in common: they knew their answers right away. They knew what they wanted to accomplish at work. After this question, the group leader asked us whether we had a primary goal in life. To my surprise, most of my co-workers struggled with their answers, some starting with “If I have to have a goal, it would be...” or “I don’t really know, I guess it would be...”. I found this rather curious. The point of the exercise was to invite us to think about how work is part of life, and life is what we live. The reality is that we tend to separate our work from everything else, almost like a different world. We invest a third of our time entirely at work, but it tends to be disconnected from the rest of our lives... Later I started to think about my own life, how I’m a husband, father, son, brother, friend, mentor, mentee, teacher, student, and asked myself the same questions... For us as a community of faith, our Lord’s Church, what is our goal in life, at work, on the street, and at home? Do we have a main, all-encompassing goal to the way we are meant to live our lives, one that applies to all that we are and are called to be here on this Earth? I prayed for a while, and eventually, I was given this answer: “To accept the love God has for me and share it with everyone, through who I am and what I do.” At the end of the day, isn’t this what our God commands us to do? This is something we can do everywhere. By showing His love for us in everything we do, we are as images of Christ in the world, not necessarily by words, but by action. To accept His love, we plug into the source, our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Participating in His feast, the Eucharistic banquet, the Holy Mass, we recharge our hearts with the faith, hope, and charity we require to perform our daily chores and jump-start the loving relationship with our brothers and sisters. We are children of God, not just some of the time, but all of the time. We are Church, not just on Sundays, but every day. We are sent disciples, not just at Church, but everywhere. We are called to constantly and consistently be in relationship with our Lord, and to show His love to others, that our brothers and sisters may get closer to God through seeing His love for us. Let us then unite the different aspects of our lives to Him who loves us, that we may achieve the consistency required to be His true disciples, apostles of His love, everywhere we go. Let us pray: Lord, please give us more of your love and the awareness to always be as the disciples that we are called to be. That we may show the world, through our very lives, that you are God, our loving Lord. Amen. By: Laura Worhacz “But the mission dearest to Mary ‘s heart was that of constant prayer…” - Saint Peter Julian Eymard Dearest Eucharistic Family, Mary guides us through our journey of faith. The mission of our Catholic Church continues through the Cross of Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation. Living in the mystery of our suffering and allowing the pain to be offered in humble service is the revelation of the saints. Grace pours out of the unknown. Our hidden and submissive offerings are those we may be tempted to think unseen. God’s vision of love for our lives is seen in the silence. Mary’s mission was that of constant prayer. If we think of our Lady’s prayer… How did she pray? She was not praying the rosary as we know it now, or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It seems Mary lived in a constant state of prayer. This union of prayer granted her to be the first missionary of our Catholic Church. I have been praying for years the rosary, chaplet, and many personal devotions. The prayers take my heart home to the Catholic Church and bring me into greater union with God. However, when Raymond (my husband) was in ICU for two weeks after his recent liver transplant surgery my prayer lived in the deep silence of my soul. I was blessed in those weeks to get to an early morning Mass. Receiving Communion was everything to remind my soul of its mission. The rest of the days were a blur, busy with nurses, doctors and taking care of Raymond. Our mission begins with fulfilling the duties of our state in life. The mission is granted by our interior consent to God’s Holy Will. Obedience to silent time with our Father, and receiving His son, sets us on our course. There are times we are in control of our prayer and other times we are tossed about, yet by the gift of the Eucharist we are still within, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46). The Holy Spirit will guide our paths and all the work thereafter. God is so gracious; He offers us freedom; we give permission to His life in us. His grace is ever ready to be poured out to us. The mission of our Catholic Church begins in the heart of each believer. Where God extends our mission will be granted one breath at a time. We pray, like Mary, for our constant prayer of consent to be where our mission on earth begins. Happy and blessed New Year to you and your families. |
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AuthorsWe are Ivonne J. Hernandez, Rick Hernandez and Laura Worhacz, Lay Associates of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and brothers and sisters in Christ. |