PAUSE FOR REFLECTION
by Ken Rolheiser
The Eucharist is my cup of tea

The Word Among Us Easter 2017 uses this analogy: putting a tea bag in a cup of water transforms the
water. It is no longer water. It is now a cup of tea with a distinct flavor and color. Once the tea
combines with the water, it would be very hard to separate them again.

This is a good way to look at how God transforms our lives. Easter is working its transformation in our lives once again. The Passover Feast is all about the Eucharist and how Christ stays with us after he ascends to the Father. The Eucharist is his gift of love. Once we receive him into our hearts and souls, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to separate the Divine life in us from our natural lives.

And that is wonderful news! The challenge Christ leaves with us, as he left it with his disciples, is to go out and proclaim the Good News to all the world. And how do we do that?

The first Gospel proclamation might well have been a baby’s cry. It simply said, “I am here!” The presence of Jesus in a manger at Bethlehem announced to the shepherds, the Kings and the entire world: The Savior is born.

How did Mary Magdalene proclaim the Gospel? She told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” Maybe we don’t even have to say a word. Our happy presence says, “I have seen the Lord.” Our appearance at the Easter Sunday services for the next fifty days says, “I have seen the Lord. He has risen. I believe.”

The Eucharist is my cup of tea. That is where I get my strength. St Teresa of Calcutta said, “We cannot separate our lives from the Eucharist; the moment we do, something breaks. People ask, ‘Where do the sisters get the joy and energy to do what they are doing?’

“…When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength.”

In an earlier article I asked about the carryover from our Sunday Eucharist. Imagine that Last Supper! Even the scraps of left-overs, the table cloth, utensils, the Holy Grail!

Think of all the miracles attributed to these physical bits of that great feast. More significantly, know that fellow Christians were there and still are; miraculously witnessing – Peter, James, John…who were seen by…who were seen by…who are present today with you and me at the Lord’s supper in 2017.

We are the miracles, that presence we so easily forget. We are the witnesses, the physical bits of that great feast that happens every Eucharistic celebration.

Miracles are attributed to these bits, to us, if we have the faith and vision to perceive them. The physical chain of evidence is intact. What a difference we can make if we share this love with family and community!

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