Who is Jesus to you?

Who is Jesus Christ to you (to me)? Who do I say He is with my life? I look at the monstrance and due to the reflection of light, am unable to see the host. Jesus is hidden to me. Other times I can see Him but do I know... do I see the true reality of who He is? Lord, give me eyes of Faith. Help me see who You really are and who You desire me to be today. Walk with me and lift me up to a higher more perfect existence in your love. 

Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary correlation with the Blessed Sacrament

Last night while praying the rosary during my holy hour, it occurred to me that the each of the Joyful Mysteries can be meditated on in light of Blessed Sacrament.  

The first decade of course is the Annunciation which is when the Angel Gabriel came to Mary and Jesus was conceived. It struck me that just as God physically entered into Mary in a very real way and she then carried him inside of her, we also have a similar experience when we receive the Eucharist. God physically takes up residence inside of us and becomes one with us in an extremely intimate way. Similar to Mary, partaking of the Bread of Life makes us living tabernacles and is a mystery we can’t fully understand but that changes our very being.

The second decade is the Visitation in which Mary travels to and spends time with her relative Elizabeth who is also pregnant. The correlation to the Eucharist here is that once we have received our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we must be moved to take Him to others and serve each other. Mary could have just stayed put and done her own thing in preparing for Jesus’ birth, but she saw  that her cousin was in need and so she gave up her time and made the long journey to be with her all while dealing with the uncertainties in her own life. A former parish priest I knew growing up, always would talk about how the Eucharist needs to transform us and changes us as we leave the doors of the church so that we can help build up the Kingdom of God in this life.

The third decade is Nativity in which Jesus was born. The Eucharistic connection here is the hidden Messiah. As I knelt in the Adoration Chapel before the Bread of Life, it hit me that it takes eyes of Faith to see past appearance of bread and grasp the reality of who is present in that little white host. This isn’t so different then the faith needed by the shepherds and wise men who came and worshiped the Baby King in the manger. Who could fathom that God would come to earth in a dirty stable and take on the form of a helpless infant born into poverty. Would we have recognized who this child is if we had been present there? And do we recognize Christ present to us today hidden in the Eucharist?

The fourth decade is the Presentation in which Joseph and Mary presented the Baby Jesus in the temple and offed a sacrifice according to the law. The Eucharist Meal we participate in at every Mass is truly a sacrificial meal.  At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the priest says, ”Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” Of course this is referencing the bread and wine that will become the Most Precious Body and Blood of Jesus, but I always think of it as broader then just this. We are offering our very selves…everything we have. At the presentation of our Lord, Joseph and Mary offered two turtle doves as that is all they could afford. Now God takes our seemingly insignificant gift and  transforms it into something amazing. And similar to the old man Simeon who took the Baby Jesus in his arms in the temple and rejoiced, we too should be filled with joy at the reality of receiving our Lord and Savior in our own hands at Communion.

The fifth decade is the Finding of Jesus in the Temple. Here the 12 year old Jesus is found in the temple teaching, by his parents who had lost him. Here the parallel is that when we feel like we’ve lost our way and don’t know where or who this Jesus is, He can still be physically found in every Catholic Church in the world.  Like the doctors who were amazed at the young Jesus’ wisdom in the temple, we too can learn much if we spend time with him and listen to what he is telling us. In the stillness of our heart…in quiet prayer, Jesus still speaks and teaches us today. Mary and Joseph were no doubt filled with anxiety and stress as they searched for their lost son but what a feeling of peace they must have experienced when they found Him. That sure is the way it is with my life too. I go along day after day thinking I’ve got my life in decent order, but as soon as I loose site of where my relationship is with Jesus, my life becomes a chaotic mess. I constantly have to refocus my priorities with Jesus at the middle and whenever I do this, all the other noise doesn’t seem so loud. Being able to spend time one on one with Jesus in the Eucharist is our greatest source of peace. 

Best hour of the week....My time with Jesus

Imagine that your best friend is in town and you have a chance to sit down face to face together and catch up. Imagine that you have an opportunity for a personal audience with a distinguished public dignitary. Imagine you have a chance to travel back in time and chat with one of the greatest and wisest figures in history.  “Too good to be true. Impossible” you say. But nothing is impossible for God. He wants a personal relationship with each of us and what better way for this to happen then by giving us the chance to spend time with Him.

Sure God is everywhere, in our hearts and can be found in those around us. And we can talk to him anytime we want. That’s all good but what’s better, talking on the phone or face to face? There’s no substitute for being physically with those we love. To grieve with them, laugh with them, cry with them and listen to them. One would have to conclude that if you could have that kind of closeness with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, this would be the most amazing things in the world. Well I’ve got news for you. Jesus is more real then you ever imagined.

I’m talking about one of the best kept secrets of our time: Adoration of the Holy Eucharist. As a Catholic I believe the consecrated host is truly and miraculously Jesus himself and He can be found in every Catholic church around the world. Many churches offer times for adoration during which the sacred host is displayed in a chapel for people to come and sit with Him,. talk with Him and listen to Him.

This year I’ve started making a regular Holly Hour each week with Jesus and that hour is one of the best parts of my week. It’s truly remarkable how quickly the time goes and how at peace I feel when leaving. I feel almost giddy at times that I get to spend that time with my dearest friend. I do some talking and tell Jesus what’s heavy on my heart. I ask Him to bless my family and friends and bring us home to heaven one day. I praise Him and thank Him for all he’s done for me. And I ask him to take away my shortcomings (there are many) and worries and make me beautiful for Him. It just depends how I feel. At times I’ve been very excited about something in my life. And other times I’ve been frustrated and hurt. Either way, Christ listens and gives me peace. And sometime I just listen. I’ll read some scripture readings and reflections as well at times and meditate on prayers such as the rosary or the stations of the cross.

One day I was even angry with God for allowing my young cousin to be killed in a car accident. I know He doesn’t will such things but my beef was that He could have stopped it. As I knelt there asking Jesus “Why?” I heard in my heart, Him ask a question back to me. “Do you Believe?” It’s a question that stung me and challenged me. I say I believe that Jesus is Lord, that God has a plan and that He finds ways to bring beauty out of ugliness. Jesus wasn’t giving me the answers but asking me to put my heart where my actions are and to trust in Him. It’s not the answer I wanted, but it’s the answer I needed and He knew that.

Many times my moments with Jesus aren’t quite so emotional. But it always amazes me how fulfilled and peaceful I feel regardless of if we had a deep conversation or if I had little to say. There are no awkward silences with Jesus. It’s actually a very intimate experience to be face to face with my maker, savior, king and friend.

Now I don’t blame people for being skeptical that it’s really truly Jesus. After all, the Eucharist still looks like a little white wafer of bread. And if Jesus can do anything, why would He choose this simple ordinary and unspectacular way to be present to us? It’s a fair question and ultimately, I can’t scientifically prove it’s Jesus. But His Word and His Church tell me that it is Him and I DO believe.

My faith in this isn’t blind however. And the best testimony I can give is to tell you how being in His presence makes me feel. But could  this just be my own emotional excitement projecting ideas I have? This is another fair question. But I’ll point to a time recently when I went to make a Holy Hour and the Eucharist wasn’t there on display due to an out of the ordinary event after which our priest forgot to place the Host back in the adoration chapel. I stayed for the hour anyway doing scripture reading and prayers like I normally do. I even talked with the Lord in my heart as I know He is always with us. But it wasn’t the same. Something was missing and it was surprisingly obvious to me. Even in the days that followed, I just didn’t feel as warm and close to Jesus as I typically do after a Holy Hour. I guess when you are longing to be spend time with someone, there’s just no substitute for the real thing.

It baffles the mind that spending a quite hour in prayer could make me  feel more centered, at peace and joyful. But that is what happens. The people of Jesus’s time thought it was crazy that God would be present to them in Jesus, born to simple people in a simple town. As Christians we now see that this was God’s plan and what a beautiful thing it is that he He came into our world this way. He’s just as real to us today as He was 2000 years ago so don’t miss out on one of the greatest gifts you could ever receive. Being with Jesus in this special time is a glimpse of Heaven hear on Earth. I’ve gotten a taste of it and boy do I want more.

Giving up radio/music for Lent

It's Ash Wednesday once again and another season of Lent begins. Everyone always wonders what us Catholics are going to give up it seams so I figured I'd post my Lenten penance here. For a number of years now I've been giving up listening to the radio on my commute to and from work as well as listening to music on my iPod. I listen to a lot of talk radio (mostly sports and news) and love cranking the tunes on my iPod so giving them up for 40 days is not that easy. Especially since sports talk radio is just starting to have more programming about my favorite team, the Minnesota Twins.

Many people give up sweets, soda pop or try to kick a bad habit so why do I give up something that isn't really harming me? The answer is that while it doesn't harm me to listen to music or the radio, it really is just a luxury that I enjoy. Everyone's different and for some people this wouldn't be a sacrifice at all so you have to know yourself. I think the whole idea of giving up something is that by purposefully setting something aside from your life you can have more room for Jesus. Really giving something up is only half of the deal. The other half is replacing it with something that helps you grow spiritually in your relationship with the Lord. So my hope is that I will take some of that time that I would have been listening to music and the radio and pray more, read the scriptures and just listen to what God is saying in my heart.

As difficult as I find Lent to be at times, I don't remember a year that it hasn't helped me grow and to be honest I find I really need it to refocus my life and priorities on what is important. Sure growing can be a painful process but the renewed joy and peace is totally worth it. And I do have plenty of room for growth, so here's to hopefully another successful Lent.