December 13, 2019
Today, I designed a prayer ritual for a friend of mine who is a director of Religious Education in a parish. The ritual is an invitation to all who participate to see themselves intimately connected to God’s creation as Eucharist. The CSJ community tries to live this connection in “All Are One” charism in and through the Eucharist. The Body of Christ is not only the Eucharistic liturgy celebrated at mass, but includes the presence of Jesus when people gather to pray and act on behalf of justice, to read and pray using the Scriptures, particularly the Gospels and put their gifts and talents toward service for the advancement of the common good for all of God’s creation. All of these manifestations of God are Eucharist and invite us to step deeper into God’s hope for us. For me, the gospel passage describing Jesus washing the feet of his disciples best illustrates this notion of “All Are One.” Jesus spent his whole life being Eucharist. The gospel stories give us insights into Jesus’ understanding of Eucharist. Jesus healed. Jesus taught. Jesus was an ally to the marginated. Jesus forgave. John 13:1-30 shows Jesus modeling for the disciples the offering of himself in the breaking of the bread, the sharing of the cup and the actual attention to the bodies of those present as sacred and holy. It is the total package. What happens at the table serves to help heal what is happening to the body. There is no separation; “All Are One.” The six sisters of Le Puy had as their church their kitchen. Their gospel was the stories they shared in the evening when they gathered for their meal. That meal was and continues to be the Eucharist to “love and serve God and the Dear Neighbor.”