June 4, 2010
Practice, more practice needed to live in the real presence of God
By ZOE CANNON (Vincennes | Our Lady of Hope, Washington)
The Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, occurs 60 days after Easter and thus falls in early summer, in June or July. The Feast was formally established in 1215, when the Catholic Church asserted that what occurred during the mass was the miracle of transubstantiation. The wafer of consecrated bread did not simply represent the body of Christ but actually became it. Christ’s Body and Blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion are our true food as Christians, giving us the strength to live our lives in union with God. “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; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” — John 6:53, 54.
This year we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the source and summit of all that we believe as Catholics, on the weekend of June 5 and 6. To say the Eucharist is the “source and summit of Christian spirituality” means at least two things. First, that Christian spirituality flows from the Eucharist as its source, the way light streams forth from the sun. And second, that Christian spirituality is supremely realized in the Eucharist as its summit or highpoint — that to which all of our actions should ultimately be directed.
Something very exciting is taking place in Vincennes this Corpus Christi weekend. We are beginning the process of opening a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel in our community. A core planning team comprised of six parishes, St. Philip Neri in Bicknell, and Sacred Heart, St. John the Baptist, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Thomas and Old Cathedral in Vincennes, began to implement the plan about a month ago.
Last January, a group from Our Lady of Hope in Washington came to Sacred Heart in Vincennes to talk about the success of their Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. The experience and support from these faithful people made believers of all who attended the Faith Formation Session that evening. They were initially invited to simply educate our parish about the importance of Eucharistic Adoration. We offer Adoration once a month with some difficulty in filling the hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The enthusiasm of these people from Washington sparked a flame, and with prayer, five months later, we are preparing our own chapel, which we have named “Jesus King of Angels.”
The chapel will be located inside St. Vincent de Paul Church on Hart Street Road. Our hope is to have two people committed to each hour of the 24 hour period for each day of the week. If you do the math, our Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel needs at least 336 people to fulfill the obligation. With six parishes participating, I am hopeful.
Pope John Paul ll said “the Eucharist is a priceless treasure: that by not only celebrating it but also by praying before it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very wellspring of grace” By this he was speaking about Eucharistic Adoration. There is no single subject in spiritual literature that is more highly recommended than living in God’s presence. It is not a question about its fundamental role. The important thing is how do we grow or develop in this living in God’s presence? Whatever else the spiritual life is, it is practice and more practice. We don’t become spiritual by reading books about it. The deepest mysteries of our faith are simple; we are always present to God. God sustains us, so surely we must be present to him. Presence always describes a relationship between people. To live in God’s presence in this spiritual sense, we must first make up our minds to take time out to think of him. And no one, not even God will make up our minds for us. We alone are responsible for taking the op-portunity to be in his Presence.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen wrote that the devotion of Eucharistic Adoration was more about sharing in the work of redemption than adoring.
“Without adoration, there is no transformation of the world.” — Pope Benedict XVI.
The words of these holy men are worthy of our attention. Imagine the power of your prayers in the real presence of God, being part of the redemption of the world.
Just as important remember the men who bring the Body of Christ to us, our priests. Pray for them and their ministry; without them we have no consecrated bread to sustain us. Keep the success of this mission for our faith community in Vincennes close to your heart as well. St. John Baptist Vianney said, “When Our Lord sees pure souls coming eagerly to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament He smiles on them.” Now imagine that smile . . . truly, truly what could be more beautiful? I know God is smiling!