The Power of the Eucharist

 In  the first reading of today's liturgy, 1 Cor 10: 14-22, St. Paul reminds us that we are one in that we all share in "the cup of blessing,...the Blood of Christ,...and the bread,...the body of Christ."  By partaking of Holy Communion, we are, in fact, unified as the Body of Christ.  We are made one with our spouses, our children and grandchild, our community members or members of our parish. That which destroys our unity is, in itself, destroyed, so to speak, and we are reunited in love, in peace, in forgiveness.  In the Eucharistic meal, Jesus restores us, makes us whole, reconciles us to one another.  

In this same passage, Paul goes on to warn us of sacrificing to idols, that is to demons.  To demons, you ask? Yes, to demons, to anything to which we cling as God substitutes or to anyone whom we "worship" in place of God, the Almighty One, the Ultimate Forgiving One, the Infinitely Merciful One, our Savior God above all gods.  To whom, in your life do you, and to whom, in my life do I seek "salvation" and leave God out of the picture? To whom and to what do we repeatedly go for a sense of peace, security, a settling down, so to speak, and shut God out?

What may help us is to realize is  that God patiently waits for us to come to Him with all of our problems!  He is there for us and ready to help us resolve whatever issues are troubling us. God wants our peace! God wants us to feel secure with Him! Whenever I am troubled and I come to the Lord and pour out my troubling thoughts, laying before His feet that person or situation about which I am upset, God restores my peace of mind. Turning people, things and myself over to the Lord, as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, gives me the strength to carry whatever cross I was agonizing about.  I can get up, as Jesus did, and face whatever disturbed me. Yes, I am then able to go to the "Calvary" of my life, die to that which I need to die to--usually changing an attitude within myself--and am then able to experience a resurrection. The "stone" is then removed from the "tomb" in which I had buried myself and I can then live  differently from that which was blocking new life in me.