Author: MtCarmel

A reflection by Sr Kym Harris osb and downloaded from http://www.prayasyoucan.com.au

Our lives have times and seasons but no matter how charmed our life might be at any point in time, we have crosses to face. At other times, our crosses may dominate our days, leaving us with a sense of barely making it, if at all. No matter what season we are in, there is an instinctive indignation that overtakes us when a cross comes our way: ‘Why did this happen to me?’ Sometimes we really do need to ask ourselves that question in order to change our ways and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. But more often than not that ‘Why’ is really a cover for the assertion, ‘This should not be happening to me!’
But why shouldn’t it? As Christians, as human beings, we have crosses to face. Not simply is this the nature of reality. Our Saviour, our Master embraced the cross and made it the way of salvation. Since that is the case, the question we should be asking when a cross confronts us is, ‘What am I to do now?’ The ‘why’ question either sends us back into the past or entrenches us in the present. The ‘what’ questions opens us to the mystery of the moment and gives us options into how we are to act. The ‘what’ question affirms that we, as humans, can choose our future, knowing that God is with us, on our side., No matter how difficult the challenge our dignity as children of God cannot be taken from us by whatever circumstances we face. This is especially important to affirm when we are in the worst of times that can come upon us. In such situations, the only option we may have is the attitude we can take. We can embrace the cross even though we may feel that it is killing us.

A reflection by Sr Kym Harris osb

A reflection by Sr Kym Harris osb and downloaded from http://www.prayasyoucan.com.au

There was, and maybe still is, a piece of graffiti near Central Station in Sydney. ‘What you eat and drink today, walks and talks tomorrow.’ Behind the message is the recognition that what we eat affects what we become. Food becomes us.

The food that Jesus gives, his very Body and Blood, works in the opposite way. This food does not become us, rather we are transformed into this food. Just as Jesus draws his life from the Father, this food will make us draw life from Jesus. With this food we become what we eat. It is a power for unity in our lives – firstly, with God and then, with other people. It is a power that we can draw on in the ordinary circumstances of life – and in the extraordinary and difficult situations we have to deal with.

In many religions, food offerings, usually the first or the best food, are made to the gods. In the Eucharist, it is God who makes the offering to us….and it is the finest food…but with a twist on our understanding of what is best. The separation of the Body and the Blood reveals that this is a sacrifice and one that cost more than a little. Rather it cost Jesus what was most precious for him– his very life. His sacrifice was a violent death that resulted from human sinfulness. In the Eucharist Jesus offers this sacrifice to us as a food that can sustain in the difficult situations of life: in the experience of loss, of illness, of marital problems, of personal failure and in the face of sin. The presence of Jesus’ life is not meant to be something we encounter only when we attend Sunday Eucharist but rather it is a grace for good that we can consciously draw on throughout our week and beyond. Jesus wants to give us the richness of God’s life in all the circumstances of our lives but he will not force this upon us. In what ever happens to us, we need to put out our hand, receive his ‘food’ and say ‘Amen’.