Moments of silent adoration before the Sacred Host or thanksgiving after Communion can be nourished by considerations such as these.
Newsdesk (05/08/2022 9:00 PM, Gaudium Press) Let us begin this reflection with two paradigmatic passages from Sacred Scripture: “And God gave this commandment to man: ‘You may eat of every tree of the garden, but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day you eat of it you shall die'”. (Gen 2:16-17).
To this sentence spoken at the beginning, God himself added another, no less categorical, in the fullness of time: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:53). And just before: “This is the bread come down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die”. (Jn 6:50).
The contrasting equivalence of the two is striking, one giving death and the other life: “You will die if you eat of it/ If you do not eat of it, you will not have life”. We are facing truths of Faith that are, moreover, central milestones in the history of Salvation: Original Sin and Redemption.
In the Life of the Lord Everything has a Redemptive Dimension
A rudimentary approach to the redemptive mystery consists in restricting it to the single event of Calvary. Yes, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus constitute the culmination of the work of salvation, but in the life of the Lord everything has a redemptive dimension, from His Incarnation in the most pure womb of Mary, to His seat at the right hand of the Father, from where He continues interceding for us.
Thus, the cold of the cave of Bethlehem, the work in St Joseph’s workshop, the weariness of walking through valleys and mountains during His public life, etc., contributed to the salvation of humanity, but also to its joys! Yes, because the Incarnate Word, being the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, every act, every gesture, every beating of His Sacred Heart, having infinite merit, is more than sufficient to bring about redemption.
It was necessary that Christ suffered
Moreover, theology teaches us that it was necessary that He should suffer. St. Thomas gives two reasons why the Son of God had to suffer: one, to make reparation for our sins, and the other, to be a model of how we should act, because on the Cross we find the example of all virtues.
Since the original Fall placed obstacles in the way of the Divine Plan, to make reparation for this offense done to God and to the order of the universe, Christ – who could not fail to act in the most excellent way – “gave himself up for us as an oblation and a sweet sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:2), “humbling himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a Cross” (Phil 2:8).
Now everything that refers to the Word goes beyond the limits of time, since He was generated from all eternity: “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1). It can be said that the mystery of salvation has no origin, and moreover it is permanent, because through the Church the work of redemption continues its course, and will continue to do so until the end of the world.
Sharing the Redemptive Mystery
Jesus wanted the redemptive mystery to be shared. Let us think of the cooperation of Mary Most Holy, whom the Church venerates at the foot of the Cross and acclaims as Co-redemptrix of humankind. In the same way, the just contribute to the redemption; St Paul writes to the Colossians: “I complete in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings” (Col 1:24). And Saint John Paul II emphasizes in one of his encyclicals: “(…) in union with Christ crucified for us, man collaborates in a certain way with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity“. (Laborem Exercens, 27).
As for the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, there is also an assessment that goes beyond, so to speak, the thirty-three years of the Redeemer’s earthly life, because time and eternity coexist in the consecrated species. And to this reality, which already astonishes us, is added another great marvel: by an ineffable mystery, together with the Person of the Word are the Father and the Holy Spirit! The three divine Persons are inseparable and always work together!
The Blessed Trinity and the Eucharist
The Eucharist is therefore the whole Christ, that is, his Body, Soul and Divinity and, together with him, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Yes, in the Sacrament of the altar we are given the three divine Persons so that we may possess them and enjoy them.
For this reason, in the Eucharist we can properly adore the Father giving the fiat that brought the universe out of nothing, or the Son judging the living and the dead at the conclusion of human history, or the Paraclete pouring himself out on the Apostles in the Upper Room, or the Most Holy Trinity crowning Mary as Queen and Lady of all creation… The Eucharist transports us to various horizons, eternal, divine.
Reflections to Make During Adoration
The moments of silent adoration before the Sacred Host or of thanksgiving after communion can be nourished by considerations such as these; they will be opportune for chasing away the boredom that usually assails us. We should be careful, because the habit of adoring or receiving Communion with indifference turns these moments of sublimity into a dull routine.
Finally, a sad observation: besides the faithful who value the Eucharist, there are those who underestimate it or are unaware of it, being totally alien to any form of Eucharistic worship. How can this be, dealing with a mystery so central to our Faith? The truth is that there are not many possible answers… it all ends up being restricted to two reasons: ignorance or aversion.
The widespread indifference of contemporary Catholics towards the Blessed Sacrament seems to be the fruit of an insufficient religious formation, that is, of ignorance. For it is difficult to admit that this disinterest could be caused by a conscious and voluntary antipathy?
In any case, let us pray for those who are ignorant and hostile, so that Mary Most Holy will bring them closer to the redeeming Sacrament, and let us pray as the Angel of Portugal taught the little shepherds of Fatima in their apparition: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you; I ask pardon of you for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love you.”
By Father Rafael Ibarguren EP – Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Eucharistic Works of the Church.
Compiled by Roberta MacEwan
