SUE O'DONNELL. 07.04.21
“If you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2 v 10 NLT)
How is Christ Jesus with us to accomplish this?
In many different ways especially sacramentally,
But fully in ‘The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.’
Our Father is with us, in the Son, by the Spirit,
As this sacrament was instituted by Christ Jesus,
Immediately before His Passion and Crucifixion.
He has given us an amazing memorial,
Far more than a mere remembrance.
“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks, a participation in the blood of Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 10 v 16 NIV)
Christ Jesus comes to us in His body and blood,
When prayerfully, trustingly we come to partake
Of the highest, holiest Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus, the Christ, feeds us as the Bread of Life.
His blood purifies us through forgiveness to sanctify us.
We are made to be a new creation, no more under condemnation of sin.
We begin anew through Him who died for us at the †.
Only to rise once more in order to offer us His holiness.
“Let Your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in You alone.” (Psalm 33 v 22 NLT)
The mystery of the Holy Eucharist is a share in this.
It is the most precious gift imaginable, freely available to us.
Our life is blessed to be made anew through the Eucharist.
We die to self, we die to sin, we rise to life in Christ Jesus.
His perfect holiness is an opportunity for us to be holy.
Let us be a worthy part of God’s family, called to sainthood,
As we should now live an entirely Christlike life.
Focus on Christ Jesus, the living Bread from heaven.
“And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10 v 16 NIV)
And you will see, I guarantee, the very real difference this makes.
No longer is Your journey through life oppressive, heavy,
Because we are weighted down by the burden of sin.
No, we begin again, in the brightest light of holy love.
It is this love directly from above filling us,
As we become partakers of The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.
We have joined the brotherhood and sisterhood
Of pilgrim people moving towards the promised land
And jubilant in the presence of the risen Lord Jesus.
“She …continually occupying her soul with sacred prayers and divine praises. She had already focused the most fervent attention of her entire desire on the Light, and she opened more generously the depths of her mind to the torrents of grace that bathe a world of turbulent change.” (from “The Legend of St Clare” describing her ardent love of The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.)
“Show me the right path, O LORD, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by Your truth and teach me, for You are the God who saves me.” (Psalm 25 v 4, 5, NLT)
Let us pray in adoration, having been profoundly blessed by The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Our highest worship is offered through the body and blood of Christ Jesus.
The living Bread is our spiritual food, a real nourishment and replenishment, the full goodness of Christ Jesus’ holiness offered to be shared with us.
All saints model their life of faith and fidelity on the beloved Son, the perfectly holy One, who out of reverent obedience, accepted the † that our sinfulness be forgiven.
Without the Saviour, our hope of holiness and heaven would not be, could not be justified. But Christ Jesus died, crucified, for this very purpose of gaining us forgiveness, that we can seek holinss.
We come boldly therefore, to the throne of grace, seeking all the mercy needed to forgive all our sins be they of omission or commission.
Dearest Father, please forgive us through Christ Jesus, our Brother who is our Saviour. He sends us His Spirit that we can recognise our faults and failings, seeking to make amends.
We cannot do better than to devote our time, thoughts and efforts to the beloved Son in whom You are well pleased. But in order to do this, we need Your Spirit.
Thank You that the Holy Spirit rejuvenates us, reminding us that we who once were alienated from Your favour because of our sinfulness, have been made righteous. Our status has been changed.
But being made holy is a process we must conform to, seek, follow strictly and wholeheartedly, so again we need the Holy Spirit’s help, support and guidance.
He will reveal to us how vital it is to make the Lord Jesus truly Lord over us and therefore, we must be pro-active in our belonging, realising the Master is not absent to us.
We are an Easter people of hope, resurrected from all sinfulness, but we need the continuous topping up of the Holy Spirit to give us the correct attitude towards all things.
It is this miraculous Spirit so very active in The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist, who enables us to look at the bread and wine as they actually are, the substance of Christ Jesus, present with us.
“I will exalt You, LORD, for You rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O LORD my God, I cried to You for help” – and again this must have been Holy Spirit led – “and You restored my health” (Psalm 30 v 1, 2 NLT) spiritually.
All that has happened on Maundy Thursday with the institution of the Holy Eucharist on through the Passion and Crucifixion, to Christ Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, is truly momentous.
And we are called to be part of this “You brought me up from the grave, O LORD, You kept me from falling into the pit of death.” (v 3)
I do not think it is possible to thank You sufficiently, but I would certainly like to try, especially as I lift up the communion cup of our salvation, receiving the blessing of Your forgiveness through Christ Jesus.
He is life to us, a life of fullness now if we but strive to share in His holiness, and a life in unimaginable heaven eventually. Our Forever Saviour has gifted us life forever, thank You.
May we no longer alienate ourselves from the blessings of grace, from the holiness the Lord Jesus offers to us.
May the Holy Spirit please continue to convince us of the need of humility so we own our faults and failings.
The Creator and Sustainer of the world comes to us truly humbled, actually hidden beneath an everyday substance. Surely this should remind us of the need to dethrone ourselves.
May the Saviour of the world always carry us to freedom on His broad shoulders.
“Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet.” (1 Corinthians 15 v 25) May we in no way cause this to become more protracted or difficult, as it will if we keep sinning.
Christ Jesus alive in us by the Holy Spirit, oh the hope, the peace and the real joy we find in ‘The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist’ as we enter the Easter season.
Here is our opportunity to rejoice in experiencing the dynamic and vital work of the Holy Spirit, so evident in the drama of salvation, but also in our daily life beyond the †.
Thank You that the Holy Spirit prompts and reminds us to offer all our godly intentions and actions for the glory of our Saviour Brother, as we rely upon His Sacred Heart, pierced through for us.
When the soldiers pierced His side and blood and water flowed out, surely this was the blood shed for our salvation, and the water is symbolic of the flow of the Holy Spirit?
Let us then, as we partake of Christ Jesus’ most precious body and blood in reality, or when we make an act of Spiritual Communion, to embrace the Lord Jesus as if He was already there in our heart, uniting ourselves to Him, let us come fully alive in our faith.
We are seeking sanctity, looking to the one and only beloved Son, who can accomplish this for us. May the Holy Spirit please unite all we say and do to Christ Jesus’ infinite merits.
He is the Forever Saviour who makes reparation for all our sinfulness. He seeks to possess us to bless us.
Come, Holy Spirit of understanding, of faith, of counsel, of preparation, of new life, please build us up in this new life of true love, holy love.
I ask that You enable us to fulfil Your holy will perfectly, continuously, as You prepare us for heaven, where one day we will be fully united with the Holy Trinity, receiving the crown of life.
Father God, in gifting us Your Son and Your Spirit, You have given us all that pertains to holiness. Thank You for the risen Lord, our life and our hope, Your fulfilled promise and the catalyst for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
“Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces” (Psalm 34 v 5 NLT) for the Lord Jesus is our Divine Healer, the Restorer.
“We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name,” (v 20, 21) as our life is blessed by the Holy Spirit.
Thank You for our new life, our fresh hope and this Easter season, a time of rejoicing. ‘Alleluia’ is definitely our song of belonging to You, Father God, ever with us as an all powerful, ever merciful, all loving Holy Trinity, thank You. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
EUCHARIST
JESUS CHRIST
