Relying on God’s Love and Mercy: The Holy Eucharist

Danielle Heckenkamp ponders how we often emphasize the momentous events of life, rather than our need for union with Christ in the Eucharist.

It is in moments of defeat, survival, and suffering that we begin to find our nothingness among God’s greatness. Our souls desire quietness, though sometimes we forget to focus our eyes on the real reason for our existence: God and eternal life. It is to our benefit to find Christ and His love in the small moment of our lives, though at times it is difficult. Saint Francis de Sales wrote in one of his letters,

How happy are the bees. They leave their hive only to gather nectar for their honey, congregate only for their common work, are busy only unto that end (Roses Among Thorns).

It is through the example of the bees that we can contemplate our own purpose in this life. If we focus on our true purpose in life, God’s Will, then the daily demands are steppingstones to His love. Our souls are designed to seek perfect union with God, but oftentimes we fail to recognize our nothingness and His greatness. To focus on our own desires is a great flaw of Original Sin, as it stems from the sin of pride. Yet God has miraculous ways to bring us back to his heart, specifically through His presence in the Most Holy Eucharist.

The Holy Eucharist

The world tends to prefer miracles over the ordinary, but it is in the ordinary that we find the true love of Christ. Too often, we wait for a miracle, something that we can announce to the world. This is the downfall of modern society and social media. There is a desire for announcements, unique experiences, and views. I am not saying that social media is bad; rather, I am saying that we must recognize the overstimulation of the “big events” and acknowledge that such moments should not be deemed normal in our daily lives.

As we search for extraordinary experiences, we fail to remember that we have an even more powerful miracle present every day: the Holy Eucharist. It is not always easy in this busy world to remain transfixed upon the King of Kings, present in the Tabernacle 24 hours a day, but it is necessary that we strive each day to focus our attention upon His presence in this world. This can be done when we are at work, washing dishes, or driving children to sports practices by offering a Spiritual Communion that enlivens our faith, thanksgiving, and adoration for His presence in the Eucharist.

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We can find comfort in recognizing our similarities to Saint Peter, who only remained steady while walking on water when his eyes rested upon Our Lord. Peter only began to sink when his attention was redirected to the winds and dangers surrounding him. And as this dear apostle began to sink, Our Lord reached out His hand without hesitation. We experience these same distractions when we focus too heavily on short-term events, rather than the purpose of our existence: sainthood. It was the worldly distractions that brought Peter to lose faith, just as we often do too.

If we continue to search for consolations among worldly distractions, we will never find true happiness. It is easy to forget that our desire for goodness and wonder is often empty, unless rooted in the love of God. The focus can become distorted as we search for a solution in the empty pleasures of this world. We can admire the forces of nature, the natural wonders, and the worldly entertainments that can be good in themselves, but we ultimately must remember that these are not God, they are from God, but He is much greater than any such distractions.

The interior struggle between body and soul is real and it pulls us in many directions, just as St. Peter began to sink into the water. Yet, there is only one way to rise above the tide, and that is with true belief and love for Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. As Catholics, we must focus our attention on our purpose: to know, love, and serve God not only in this world, but with the desire to do so in heaven. There is no better place to begin than kneeling before the tabernacle and seeking union with our Creator.

God’s Grace and Love

The winds are strong, but so are the graces of God and Our Lord remains steadfast in the Tabernacles throughout the world – the True Body and Blood of Christ. That is where we will find everlasting life, that is where we will remain focused on Our Lord and the reason for our existence, that is where we will find God’s love for us. Just as God created the heavens and the earth, so He created us with an overflowing fountain of love and mercy, but it is up to us to seek and accept those Divine Graces.

Our Lord does not force us to love Him. It is a choice, and our free will is a gift. To desire those graces, we must also recognize our weakness and nothingness with the longing to give up control because God has a much bigger and better plan for us.

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Let’s rely on the love and mercy of God by adoring Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Once we recognize our nothingness, only then will we be able to focus our attention solely on God and His Majesty, for it is our sole purpose on this earth to seek God’s Will and earn eternal life in heaven.

This earth is a vale of tears, but it’s also the blessed place where, with the divine help of the sacraments, we’re invited to ascend the mountain of the Lord. (Alice Von Hildebrand, Crisis Magazine, "Pleasure and the Saint")

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